GMFT  ©IP 
Miss   Charlotte   Evans 


^Tv 


From   .  ''ie    possession  of 

.      N.YOH-X. 


LIFE 


OF 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


BY 


WASHINGTON    IRVING 


IN     THREE     VOLS. 


VOL.  I. 


NEW    YOEK: 
G.  P.  PUTNAM  &  CO.,  10  PARK  PLACE. 

1856. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1855, 

By  G.  P.  PUTNAM  &  CO., 

la  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


-&&*>  7<w-   ££**£*&    t'-rt^J 


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7* , 

JOHN  T.  TROVT, 


printer   axfa   Steteotjjpet, 

817  &  379  Broadway,  cor.  White-it. 

KKW  YORK. 


V  , 


PREFACE 


4— ^v^ 


The  following  work  has  long  been  announced  as  forth- 
coming, to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  author.  It 
was,  indeed,  commenced  several  years  since,  but  the 
prosecution  of  it  has  been  repeatedly  interrupted  by 
other  occupations,  by  a  long  absence  in  Europe,  and 
by  occasional  derangement  of  health.  It  is  only  with- 
in the  last  two  or  three  years  that  I  have  been  able  to 
apply  myself  to  it  steadily.  This  is  stated  to  account 
for  the  delay  in  its  publication. 

The  present  volume  treats  of  the  earlier  part  of 
Washington's  life  previous  to  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, giving  his  expeditions  into  the  wilderness,  his 
campaigns  on  the  frontier  in  the  old  French  war,  and 
the  other  "  experiences,"  by  which  his  character  was 
formed,  and  he  was  gradually  trained  up  and  prepared 
for  his  great  destiny. 


MHGS3SG 


IV  PREFACE. 

Though  a  biography,  and  of  course  admitting  of 
familiar  anecdote,  excursive  digressions,  and  a  flexible 
texture  of  narrative,  yet,  for  the  most  part,  it  is  essen- 
tially historic.  Washington,  in  fact,  had  very  little 
private  life;  but  was  eminently  a  public  character. 
All  his  actions  and  concerns,  almost  from  boyhood, 
were  connected  with  the  history  of  his  country.  In 
writing  his  biography,  therefore,  I  am  obliged  to  take 
g'ances  over  collateral  history,  as  seen  from  his  point 
of  view  and  influencing  his  plans,  and  to  narrate  dis- 
tant transactions  apparently  disconnected  with  his  con- 
cerns, but  eventually  bearing  upon  the  great  drama  in 
which  he  was  the  principal  actor. 

I  have  endeavored  to  execute  my  task  with  candor 
and  fidelity ;  stating  facts  on  what  appeared  to  be  good 
authority,  and  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  all  false 
coloring  and  exaggeration.  My  work  is  founded  on  the 
correspondence  of  Washington,  which,  in  fact,  affords 
the  amplest  and  surest  groundwork  for  his  biography. 
This  I  have  consulted  as  it  exists  in  manuscript  in  the 
archives  of  the  Department  of  State,  to  which  I  have  had 
full  and  frequent  access.  I  have  also  made  frequent  use 
of  "  Washington's  Writings,"  as  published  by  Mr. 
Sparks ;  a  careful  collation  of  many  of  them  with  the 
originals  having  convinced  me  of  the  general  correctness 


PREFACE.  V 

of  the  collection  and  of  the  safety  with  which  it  may 

be  relied  upon  for  historical  purposes  ;  and  I  am  happy 

to  bear  this  testimony  to  the  essential  accuracy  of  one 

whom  I  consider  among  the  greatest  benefactors  to  our 

national  literature ;  and  to  whose  writings  and  researches 

I  acknowledge  myself  largely  indebted  throughout  my 

work. 

W.  T. 

Suxntside,  1855. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


Genealogy  of  the  Washington  family, 


CHAPTER  L 

PAGE 
1 


CHAPTER  IL 

The  Home  of  Washington's  boyhood — His  Early  Education — Lawrence 
"Washington  and  his  Campaign  in  the  "West  Indies — Death  of 
Washington's  Father — The  Widowed  Mother  and  Her  Children — 
School  Exercises, 19 


CHAPTER  IIL 

Paternal  Conduct  of  an  Elder  Brother — The  Fairfax  family — Washing- 
ton's Code  of  Morals  and  Manners — Soldiers'  Tales — Their  Influence 
— Washington  prepares  for  the  Navy — A  mother's  objections — Re- 
turn to  School — Studies  and  Exercises — A  School-boy  Passion — The 
Lowland  Beauty — Love  Ditties  at  Mount  Yernon — Visit  to  Belvoir 
— Lord  Fairfax — His  Character — Fox-hunting  a  remedy  for  Love — 
Proposition  for  a  Surveying  Expedition, 27 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Expedition  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge — The  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah — 
Lord  Halifax — Lodge  in  the  Wilderness — Surveying — Life  in  the 
Backwoods — Indians — War  Dance — German  Settlers — Return 
Home — Washington  as  Public  Surveyor — Sojourn  at  Greenway 
Court — Horses,  Hounds,  and  Boots — Rugged  Experience  among 
the  Mountains, 38 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PAGH 

English  and  French  Claims  to  the  Ohio  Valley — Wild  State  of  the  Coun- 
try— Projects  of  Settlements — The  Ohio  Company — Enlightened 
views  of  Lawrence  Washington — French  Rivalry — Celeron  de  Bien- 
ville— His  Signs  of  Occupation — Hugh  Crawford — George  Croghan, 
a  Veteran  Trader,  and  Montour,  his  Interpreter — Their  Mission  from 
Pennsylvania  to  the  Ohio  Tribes — Christopher  Gist,  the  Pioneer  of 
the  Yadkin — Agent  of  the  Ohio  Company — His  Expedition  to  the 
frontier — Reprobate  traders  at  Logstown — Negotiations  with  the 
Indians — Scenes  in  the  Ohio  Country — Diplomacy  at  Piqua — 
Kegs  of  Brandy  and  Rolls  of  Tobacco — Gist's  return  across  Ken- 
tucky— A  Deserted  Home — French  Schemes — Captain  Joncaire,  a 
Diplomat  of  the  Wilderness — His  Speech  at  Logstown — The  In- 
dians' Land— "Where?  " 47 


CHAPTER  VL 

Preparations  for  Hostilities — Washington  appointed  District  Adjutant 
General — Mount  Vernon  a  School  of  Arms — Adjutant  Muse  a 
veteran  Campaigner — Jacob  Van  Braam  a  Master  of  Fence — 111 
health  of  Washington's  brother  Lawrence — Voyage  with  him  to 
the  West  Indies — Scenes  at  Barbadoes — Tropical  Fruits — Beef- 
steak and  Tripe  Club — Return  Home  of  Washington — Death  of 
Lawrence, 64 


CHAPTER  VIL 

Council  of  the  Ohio  Tribes  at  Logstown — Treaty  with  the  English — 
Gist's  Settlement — Speeches  of  the  Half-king  and  the  French  Com- 
mandant— French  Aggressions — The  Ruins  of  Piqua — Washing- 
ton sent  on  a  Mission  to  the  French  Commander — Jacob  Van 
Braam,  his  Interpreter — Christopher  Gist,  his  Guide — Halt  at  the 
Confluence  of  the  Monongahela  and  Allegany — Projected  Fort — 
Shingis,  a  Delaware  Sachem — Logstown — The  Half-king — Indian 
Councils — Indian  Diplomacy — Rumors  concerning  Joncaire — In- 
dian escorts — The  Half-king,  Jeskakake,  and  White  Thunder,        .     71 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

Arrival  at  Venango — Captain  Joncaire — Frontier  Revelry — Discussions 
over  the  Bottle — The  old  Diplomatist  and  the  young — The  Half- 


CONTENTS.  IX 


king,  Jeskakake,  and  White  Thunder  staggered — The  Speech-belt 
— Departure — La  Force,  the  wily  Commissary — Fort  at  French 
Creek — The  Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  Knight  of  St 
Louis — Captain  Reparti — Transactions  at  the  Fort — Attempts  to 
seduce  the  Sachems — Mischief  Brewing  on  the  Frontier — Difficul- 
ties and  Delays  in  Parting — Descent  of  French  Creek — Arrival  at 
Venango, 82 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Return  from  Venango — A  Tramp  on  Foot — Murdering  Town — The  In- 
dian Guide — Treachery — An  Anxious  Night — Perils  on  the  Alle- 
gany River — Queen  Aliquippa — The  Old  Watch-coat — Return 
across  the  Blue  Ridge, 92 


CHAPTER  X. 

Reply  of  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Pierre — Trent's  Mission  to  the  Frontier 
— Washington  recruits  Troops — Dinwiddie  and  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses— Independent  Conduct  of  the  Virginians — Expedients  to 
gain  Recruits — Jacob  Van  Braam  in  Service — Toilful  March  to 
Wills'  Creek — Contrecoeur  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio — Trent's  Re- 
fractory Troops, 100 

CHAPTER  XL 

March  to  the  Little  Meadows — Rumors  from  the  Ohio — Correspond- 
ence from  the  Banks  of  the  Youghiogeny — Attempt  to  Descend  that 
River — Alarming  Reports — Scouting  Parties — Perilous  Situation 
of  the  Camp — Gist  and  La  Force — Message  from  the  Half-king — 
French  Tracks — The  Jumonville  Skirmish — Treatment  of  La  Force 
— Position  at  the  Great  Meadows — Belligerent  Feelings  of  a  Young 
Soldier, 112 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Scarcity  in  the  Camp — Death  of  Colonel  Fry — Promotions — Mackay 
and  his  Independent  Company — Major  Muse — Indian  Ceremonials 
— Public  Prayers  in  Camp — Alarms — Independence  of  an  Inde- 
pendent Company — Affairs  at  the  Great  Meadows — Desertion  of 
the  Indian  Allies — Capitulation  of  Fort  Necessity — Van  Braam  as 
an  Interpreter — Indian  Plunderers — Return  to  Williamsburg — 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Vote  of  Thanks  of  the  House  of  Burgesses— Subsequent  Fortunes 
of  the  Half-king— Comments  on  the  Affair  of  Jumonville  and  the 
Conduct  of  Van  Braam, 125 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Founding  of  Fort  Cumberland— Secret  Letter  of  Stobo— The  Indian 
Messenger — Project  of  Dinwiddie — His  Perplexities — A  Taint  of 
Republicanism  in  the  Colonial  Assemblies — Dinwiddie's  Military- 
Measures — "Washington  quits  the  Service — Overtures  of  Governor 
Sharpe,  of  Maryland— Washington's  dignified  Reply — Questions 
of  Rank  between  Royal  and  Provincial  Troops — Treatment  of  the 
French  Prisoners — Fate  of  La  Force — Anecdotes  of  Stobo  and 
Van  Braam, 141 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Return  to  quiet  Life — French  and  English  prepare  for  Hostilities — 
Plan  of  a  Campaign — General  Braddock — His  Character — Sir 
John  St.  Clair  Quartermaster-general — His  Tour  of  Inspection — 
Projected  Roads — Arrival  of  Braddock — Military  Consultations 
and  Plans — Commodore  Keppel  and  his  Seamen — Ships  and 
Troops  at  Alexandria — Excitement  of  Washington — Invited  to 
join  the  Staff  of  Braddock — A  Mother's  Objections — Washington 
at  Alexandria — Grand  Council  of  Governors — Military  Arrange- 
ments^— Colonel  William  Johnson — Sir  John  St.  Clair  at  Fort  Cum- 
berland— His  Explosions  of  Wrath — Their  Effects — Indians  to  be 
enlisted — Captain  Jack  and  his  Band  of  Bush-beaters,        .        .  150 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Washington  proclaimed  Aide-de-camp — Disappointments  at  Frederick- 
town — Benjamin  Franklin  and  Braddock — Contracts — Departure 
for  Wills'  Creek — Rough  Roads — The  General  in  his  Chariot — 
Camp  at  Fort  Cumberland — Hugh  Mercer — Dr.  Craik — Military 
Tactics — Camp  Rules — Secretary  Peters — Indians  in  Camp — In- 
dian Beauties — The  Princess  Bright  Lightning — Errand  to  Wil- 
liamsburg— Braddock's  Opinion  of  Contractors  and  Indians — 
Arrival  of  Conveyances, 166 

CHAPTER  XVL 

March  from  Fort  Cumberland — The  Great  Savage  Mountain — Camp  at 
the  Little  Meadows — Division  of  the  Forces — Captain  Jack  and 


CONTENTS.  XI 

PAGB 

his  Band — Scarooyadi  in  Danger — Illness  of  Washington — His 
Halt  at  the  Youghiogeny — March  of  Braddock — The  Great  Mead- 
ows— Lurking  Enemies — Their  Tracks — Precautions — Thicketty 
Run — Scouts — Indian  Murders — Funeral  of  an  Indian  "Warrior — 
Camp  on  the  Monongahela — Washington's  Arrival  there — March 
for  Fort  Duquesne — The  Fording  of  the  Monongahela — The  Bat- 
tle—The Retreat— Death  of  Braddock, 179 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

Arrival  at  Fort  Cumberland — Letters  of  Washington  to  his  Family — 
Panic  of  Dunbar — Fortunes  of  Dr.  Hugh  Mercer — Triumph  of  the 
French, 203 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 

Costs  of  Campaigning — Measures  for  Public  Safety — Washington  in 
Command — Head-quarters  at  Winchester — Lord  Fairfax  and  his 
Troop  of  Horse — Indian  Ravages — Panic  at  Winchester — Cause  of 
the  Alarm — Operations  elsewhere — Shirley  against  Niagara — 
Johnson  against  Crown  Point — Affair  at  Lake  George — Death  of 
Dieskau, .  208 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Reform  in  the  Militia  Laws — Discipline  of  the  Troops — Dagworthy 
and  the  Question  of  Precedence — Washington's  Journey  to  Boston 
— Style  of  Travelling — Conference  with  Shirley — The  Earl  of  Lou- 
doun— Military  Rule  for  the  Colonies — Washington  at  New  York 
— Miss  Mary  Philipse, 224 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Troubles  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley — Greenway  Court  and  Lord  Fair- 
fax in  danger — Alarms  at  Winchester — Washington  appealed  to 
for  Protection — Attacked  by  the  Virginia  Press — Honored  by  the 
Public — Projects  for  Defence — Suggestions  of  Washington — The 
Gentlemen  Associators — Retreat  of  the  Savages — Expedition 
against  Kittanning — Captain  Hugh  Mercer — Second  Struggle 
through  the  Wilderness,      " 232 


Xll  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PAGE 

Founding  of  Fort  Loudoun — "Washington's  Tour  of  Inspection — Ineffi- 
ciency of  the  Militia  System— Gentlemen  Soldiers— Cross-purposes 
with  Dinwiddie — Military  Affairs  in  the  North— Delays  of  Lord 
Loudoun — Activity  of  Montcalm — Loudoun  in  Winter  Quarters,  .  245 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Washington  vindicates  his  conduct  to  Lord  Loudoun — His  reception 
by  his  Lordship — Military  Plans — Lord  Loudoun  at  Halifax — 
Montcalm  on  Lake  George — His  Triumphs — Lord  Loudoun's  fail- 
ures— Washington  at  Winchester — Continued  Misunderstandings 
with  Dinwiddie — Return  to  Mount  Vernon, .        .         .        .        .  254 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Washington  Recovers  his  Health — Again  in  Command  at  Fort  Lou- 
doun— Administration  of  Pitt — Loudoun  succeeded  by  General 
Abercrombie— Military  Arrangements — Washington  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Virginia  Forces — Amherst  against  Louisburg — 
General  Wolfe — Montgomery — Capture  of  Louisburg — Abercrom- 
bie  on  Lake  George — Death  of  Lord  Howe — Repulse  of  Abercrom- 
bie — Success  of  Bradstreet  at  Oswego, 263 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Slow  Operations — Washington  orders  out  the  Militia — Mission  to  Wil- 
liamsburg— Halt  at  Mr.  Chamberlayne's — Mrs.  Martha  Custis — A 
brief  Courtship — An  Engagement — Return  to  Winchester — The 
Rifle  Dress — Indian  Scouts — Washington  elected  to  the  House  of 
Burgesses — Tidings  of  Amherst's  success — The  new  Road  to  Fort 
Duquesne — March  for  the  Fort — Indiscreet  conduct  of  Major  Grant 
— Disastrous  Consequences — Washington  advances  against  Fort 
Duquesne — End  of  the  Expedition — Washington  Returns  Home — 
His  Marriage, 275 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Plan  of  Operations  for  1759 — Investment  of  Fort  Niagara — Death  of 
Prideaux — Success  of  Sir  William  Johnson — Amherst  at  Ticon- 
deroga — Wolfe  at  Quebec — His  Triumph   and  Death — Fate  of 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 


PAGE 

Montcalm — Capitulation  of  Quebec — Attempt  of  De  Levi  to  retake 
it — Arrival  of  a  British  Fleet — Last  stand  of  the  French  at  Mon- 
treal— Surrender  of  Canada, 290 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Washington's  Installation  in  the  House  of  Burgesses — His  Rural  Life — 
Mount  Yernon  and  its  vicinity — Aristocratical  days  of  Virginia — 
"Washington's  Management  of  his  Estate — Domestic  Habits — Fox- 
hunting— Lord  Fairfax — Fishing  and  Duck-shooting — The  Poacher 
— Lynch  Law — Aquatic  State — Life  at  Annapolis — Washington  in 
the  Dismal  Swamp, .  309 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Treaty  of  Peace — Pontiac's  War — Course  of  Public  Events — Board  of 
Trade  against  Paper  Currency — Restrictive  Policy  of  England — 
Navigation  Laws — Discontents  in  New  England — Of  the  other 
Colonies — Projects  to  raise  Revenue  by  Taxation — Blow  at  the  In- 
dependence of  the  Judiciary — Naval  Commanders  employed  a? 
Custom-house  Officers — Retaliation  of  the  Colonists — Taxation  re- 
sisted in  Boston — Passing  of  the  Stamp  Act — Burst  of  opposition 
in  Virginia — Speech  of  Patrick  Henry, 325 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Washington's  ideas  concerning  the  Stamp  Act — Opposition  to  it  in  the 
Colonies — Portentous  Ceremonies  at  Boston  and  New  York — Non- 
importation Agreement  among  the  Merchants — Washington  and 
George  Mason — Dismissal  of  Grenville  from  the  British  Cabinet — 
Franklin  before  the  House  of  Commons — Repeal  oi  the  Stamp  Act 
— Joy  of  Washington — Fresh  causes  of  Colonial  dissensions — Cir- 
cular of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts — Embarkation  of 
Troops  for  Boston — Measures  of  the  Bostonians,    .         .         .        .336 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

Cheerful  life  at  Mount  Vernon — Washington  and  George  Mason — Cor- 
respondence concerning  the  Non-importation  Agreement — Feeling 
toward  England — Opening  of  the  Legislative  Session — Semi-regal 
state  of  Lord  Botetourt — High-toned  proceedings  of  the  House — 
Sympathy  with  New  England— Dissolved  by  Lord  Botetourt — 
Washington  and  the  Articles  of  Association, .  ...  347 


XIV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


Hood  at  Boston — The  General  Court  refuse3  to  do  business  under 
Military  sway — Resists  the  Billeting  Act — Effect  of  the  Non-im- 
portation Association — Lord  North  premier — Duties  Revoked  ex- 
cept on  Tea — The  Boston  Massacre — Disuse  of  Tea— Conciliatory 
conduct  of  Lord  Botetourt — His  Death, 356 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Expedition  of  Washington  to  the  Ohio,  in  behalf  of  Soldiers'  Claims — 
Uneasy  state  of  the  Frontier — "Visit  to  Fort  Pitt — George  Croghan 
— His  Mishaps  during  Pontiac's  War — Washington  descends  the 
Ohio — Scenes  and  Adventures  along  the  River — Indian  Hunting 
Camp — Interview"  with  an  old  Sachem  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Kena- 
wha — Retxirn — Claims  of  Stobo  and  Van  Braam — Letter  to  Colonel 
George  Muse, 361 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Lord  Dunmore  Governor  of  Virginia — Piques  the  pride  of  the  Virgin- 
ians— Opposition  of  the  Assembly — Corresponding  Committees — 
Death  of  Miss  Custis — Washington's  Guardianship  of  John  Parke 
Custis — His  opinions  as  to  Premature  Travel  and  Premature  Mar- 
riage,       3U 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Lord  North's  Bill  favoring  the  Exportation  of  Teas — Ships  freighted 
with  Tea  to  the  Colonies — Sent  back  from  some  of  the  Ports — Tea 
Destroyed  at  Boston — Passage  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill — Session  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses — Splendid  Opening — Burst  of  Indignation 
at  the  Port  Bill — House  Dissolved — Resolutions  at  the  Raleigh 
Tavern — Project  of  a  General  Congress — Washington  and  Lord 
Dunmore— The  Port  Bill  goes  into  effect — General  Gage  at  Boston 
— League  and  Covenant, .        .  3T8 


CHAPTER  XXXrV. 

Washington  Chairman  of  a  Political  Meeting— Correspondence  with 
Bryan  Fairfax— Patriotic  Resolutions— Washington's  opinions  on 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAGE 

Public  Affairs — Non-importation  Scheme — Convention  at  "Williams- 
burg— Washington  appointed  a  Delegate  to  the  General  Congress 
■ — Letter  from  Bryan  Fairfax — Perplexities  of  General  Gage  at 
Boston, 887 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Meeting  of  the  First  Congress — Opening  Ceremonies — Eloquence  of 
Patrick  Henry  and  Henry  Lee — Declaratory  Resolution — Bill  of 
Rights — State  Papers — Chatham's  opinions  of  Congress — Washing- 
ton's Correspondence  with  Capt.  Mackenzie — Views  with  Respect 
to  Independence — Departure  of  Fairfax  for  England,    .        .         .  397 


CHAPTER  XXXVL 

Gage's  Military  Measures — Removal  of  Gunpowder  from  the  Arsenal — 
Public  Agitation — Alarms  in  the  Country — Civil  Government  ob- 
structed— Belligerent  Symptoms — Israel  Putnam  and  General 
Charles  Lee,  their  Characters  and  Stories — General  Election — Self- 
constituted  Congress — Hancock  President — Adjourns  to  Concord 
— Remonstrance  to  Gage — His  Perplexities — Generals  Artemas 
Ward  and  Seth  Pomeroy — Committee  of  Safety — Committee  of 
Supplies — Restlessness  throughout  the  Land — Independent  Com- 
panies in  Virginia — Military  tone  at  Mount  Vernon — Washing- 
ton's Military  Guests — Major  Horatio  Gates — Anecdotes  concern- 
ing him — General  Charles  Lee — His  Peculiarities  and  Dogs — 
Washington  at  the  Richmond  Convention — War  Speech  of  Patrick 
Henry — Washington's  Military  Intentions, 410 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Infatuation  in  British  Councils — Colonel  Grant,  the  Braggart — Coercive 
Measures — Expedition  against  the  Military  Magazine  at  Concord 
— Battle  of  Lexington — The  cry  of  Blood  through  the  Land — 
Old  Soldiers  of  the  French  War — John  Stark — Israel  Putnam — 
Rising  of  the  Yeomanry — Measures  of  Lord  Dunmore  in  Virginia 
— Indignation  of  the  Virginians — Hugh  Mercer  and  the  Friends  of 
Liberty — Arrival  of  the  news  of  Lexington  at  Mount  Vernon — 
Effects  on  Bryan  Fairfax,  Gates,  and  Washington,  .        .        .  427 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Enlisting  of  Troops  in  the  East — Camp  at  Boston — General  Artemas 
Ward — Scheme  to  surprise  Ticonderoga — New  Hampshire  Grants 


XVI  CONTENTS. 


page 
— Ethan  Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys — Benedict  Arnold — 
Affair  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point — A  dash  at  St  Johns,       .  440 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Second  Session  of  Congress — John  Hancock — Petition  to  the  King — 
Federal  Union — Military  Measures — Debates  about  the  Army — 
Question  as  to  Commander-in-chief — Appointment  of  "Washington 
— Other  Appointments — Letters  of  Washington  to  his  Wife  and 
Brother — Preparations  for  Departure, 448 


CHAPTER  XL. 

More  Troops  arrive  at  Boston — Generals  Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Clinton 
— Proclamation  of  Gage — Nature  of  the  American  Army — Scorn- 
ful conduct  of  the  British  Officers — Project  of  the  Americans  to 
seize  upon  Breed's  Hill — Putnam's  opinion  of  it — Sanctioned  by 
Prescott — Nocturnal  March  of  the  Detachment — Fortifying  of 
Bunker's  Hill — Break  of  Day,  and  astonishment  of  the  Enemy,     .  459 


CHAPTER  XLL 
Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill, 471 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

Departure  from  Philadelphia — Anecdotes  of  General  Schuyler — of  Lee 
— Tidings  of  Bunker  Hill — Military  Councils — Population  of  New 
York — The  Johnson  Family — Governor  Tryon — Arrival  at  New 
York — Military  Instructions  to  Schuyler — Arrival  at  the  Camp,      485 


lllttstraiiflns. 


PORTRAIT  OP  WASHINGTON,  1T95.    "Weetmullee.            .       .       .  Frontispiece. 

ERADDOCK'S  ROUTE,  1755.    From  Mr.  T.  C.  Atkinson's  Survey,  1847,  .    page  169 

THE  SAME.    From  the  Original  Map  in  Capt  Orme's  Journal,  1755,         .  .       "    169 

BATTLE  OF  BUNKER'S  HILL, *       .  .       «    467 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER   I. 

GENEALOGY  OF  THE  WASHINGTON   FAMILY. 

The  Washington  family  is  of  an  ancient  English  stock, 
the  genealogy  of  which  has  been  traced  up  to  the 
century  immediately  succeeding  the  Conquest.  At 
that  time  it  was  in  possession  of  landed  estates  and 
manorial  privileges  in  the  county  of  Durham,  such  as 
were  enjoyed  only  by  those,  or  their  descendants,  who 
had  come  over  from  Normandy  with  the  Conqueror,  or 
fought  under  his  standard.  When  William  the  Con- 
queror laid  waste  the  whole  country  north  of  the  Hum- 
ber,  in  punishment  of  the  insurrection  of  the  Northum- 
brians, he  apportioned  the  estates  among  his  followers, 
and  advanced  Normans  and  other  foreigners  to  the  prin- 
cipal ecclesiastical  dignities.  One  of  the  most  wealthy 
and  important  sees  was  that  of  Durham.  Hither  had 
been  transported  the  bones  of  St.  Cuthbert  from  their 
original  shrine  at  Lindisfarne,  when  it  was  ravaged  by 


Z  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON. 

the  Danes.  That  saint,  says  Camden,  was  esteemed 
by  princes  and  gentry  a  titular  saint  against  the  Scots.* 
His  shrine,  therefore,  had  been  held  in  peculiar  rever- 
ence by  the  Saxons,  and  the  see  of  Durham  endowed 
with  extraordinary  privileges. 

William  continued  and  increased  those  privileges. 
He  needed  a  powerful  adherent  on  this  frontier  to  keep 
the  restless  Northumbrians  in  order,  and  check  Scot- 
tish invasion ;  and  no  doubt  considered  an  enlightened 
ecclesiastic,  appointed  by  the  crown,  a  safer  depositary 
of  such  power  than  an  hereditary  noble. 

Having  placed  a  noble  and  learned  native  of  Lo- 
raine  in  the  diocese,  therefore,  he  erected  it  into  a 
palatinate,  over  which  the  bishop,  as  Count  Palatine, 
had  temporal,  as  well  as  spiritual  jurisdiction.  He 
built  a  strong  castle  for  his  protection,  and  to  serve  as 
a  barrier  against  the  Northern  foe.  He  made  him  lord 
high-admiral  of  the  sea  and  waters  adjoining  his  palat- 
inate,— lord  warden  of  the  marches,  and  conservator  of 
the  league  between  England  and  Scotland.  Thence- 
forth, we  are  told,  the  prelates  of  Durham  owned  no 
earthly  superior  within  their  diocese,  but  continued  for 
centuries  to  exercise  every  right  attached  to  an  inde- 
pendent sovereign.! 

The  bishop,  as  Count  Palatine,  lived  in  almost 
royal  state  and  splendor.  He  had  his  lay  chancellor, 
chamberlains,  secretaries,  steward,  treasurer,  master  of 
the  horse,  and  a  host  of  minor  officers.  Still  he  was 
under  feudal  obligations.     All  landed  property  in  those 

•  Camden,  Brit  iv.,  849. 

f  Annals  of  Roger  de  Hovedon.    Hutchinson's  Durham,  voL  ii.    Qul- 
Iactanea  Curiosa,  voL  ii.,  p.  83. 


GENEALOGY.  6 

warlike  times,  implied  military  service.  Bishops  and 
abbots,  equally  with  great  barons  who  held  estates  im- 
mediately of  the  crown,  were  obliged,  when  required, 
to  furnish  the  king  with  armed  men  in  proportion  to 
their  domains ;  but  they  had  their  feudatories  under 
them  to  aid  them  in  this  service. 

The  princely  prelate  of  Durham  had  his  barons 
and  knights,  who  held  estates  of  him  on  feudal  tenure, 
and  were  bound  to  serve  him  in  peace  and  war.  They 
sat  occasionally  in  his  councils,  gave  martial  splendor 
to  his  court,  and  were  obliged  to  have  horse  and 
weapon  ready  for  service,  for  they  lived  in  a  belligerent 
neighborhood,  disturbed  occasionally  by  civil  war,  and 
often  by  Scottish  foray.  When  the  banner  of  St. 
Cuthbert,  the  royal  standard  of  the  province,  was  dis- 
played, no  armed  feudatory  of  the  bishop  could  refuse 
to  take  the  field.* 

Some  of  these  prelates,  in  token  of  the  warlike  du- 
ties of  their  diocese,  engraved  on  their  seals  a  knight  on 
horseback  armed  at  all  points,  brandishing  in  one  hand 
a  sword,  and  holding  forth  in  the  other  the  arms  of  the 
see.f 

Among  the  knights  who  held  estates  in  the  pala- 
tinate on  these  warlike  conditions,  was  William  de 
Hertburn,  the  progenitor  of  the  Washingtons.  His 
Norman  name  of  William  would  seem  to  point  out  his 
national  descent;  and  the  family  long  continued  to 
have  Norman  names  of  baptism.  The  surname  of 
De  Hertburn  was  taken  from  a  village  on  the  palatinate 

*  Robert  de  Graystanes,  Ang.  Sac,  p.  746. 
f  Camden,  Brit  iv.,  349. 


4  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

which  he  held  of  the  bishop  in  knight's  fee ;  probably 
the  same  now  called  Hartburn  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tees.  It  had  become  a  custom  among  the  Norman 
families  of  rank  about  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  to 
take  surnames  from  their  castles  or  estates ;  it  was  not 
until  some  time  afterwards  that  surnames  became  gen- 
erally assumed  by  the  people.* 

How  or  when  the  De  Hertburns  first  acquired 
possession  of  their  village  is  not  known.  They  may 
have  been  companions  in  arms  with  Robert  de  Bras 
(or  Bruce),  a  noble  knight  of  Normandy,  rewarded  by 
William  the  Conqueror  with  great  possessions  in  the 
North,  and  among  others,  with  the  lordships  of  Hert 
and  Hertness  in  the  county  of  Durham. 

The  first  actual  mention  we  find  of  the  family  is 
in  the  Bolden  Book,  a  record  of  all  the  lands  appertain- 
ing to  the  diocese  in  1183.  In  this  it  is  stated  that 
William  de  Hertburn  had  exchanged  his  village  of 
Hertburn  for  the  manor  and  village  of  Wessyngton, 
likewise  in  the  diocese ;  paying  the  bishop  a  quit-rent 
of  four  pounds,  and  engaging  to  attend  him  with  two 
greyhounds  in  grand  hunts,  and  to  furnish  a  man  at 
arms  whenever  military  aid  should  be  required  of  the 
palatinate,  f 

*  Lower  on  Surnames,  voL  i.,  p.  43.  Fuller  says,  that  the  custom  of 
surnames  was  brought  from  France  in  Edward  the  Confessor's  time,  about 
fifty  years  before  the  Conquest;  but  did  not  become  universally  settled 
until  some  hundred  years  afterwards.  At  first  they  did  not  descend  hered- 
itarily on  the  family. — Fuller,  Church  History.    Roll  Battle  Abbey. 

f  The  Bolden  Book.  As  this  ancient  document  gives  the  first  trace  of 
the  Washington  family,  it  merits  especial  mention.  In  1183,  a  survey  was 
made  by  order  of  Bishop  de  Pusaz  of  all  the  lands  of  the  see  held  in  de- 
mesne, or  by  tenants  in  villanage.  The  record  was  entered  in  a  book 
called  the  Bolden  Bute:  the  parish  of  Bolden  occurring  first  in  alphabet!- 


GENEALOGY.  5 

The  family  changed  its  surname  with  its  estate, 
and  thenceforward  assumed  that  of  De  Wessyng- 
ton.* The  condition  of  military  service  attached  to 
its  manor  will  be  found  to  have  been  often  exacted, 
nor  was  the  service  in  the  grand  hunt  an  idle  form. 
Hunting  came  next  to  war  in  those  days,  as  the  occu- 
pation of  the  nobility  and  gentry.  The  clergy  en- 
gaged in  it  equally  with  the  laity.  The  hunting  estab- 
lishment of  the  Bishop  of  Durham  was  on  a  princely 
scale.  He  had  his  forests,  chases  and  parks,  with  their 
train  of  foresters,  rangers,  and  park  keepers.  A  grand 
hunt  was  a  splendid  pageant  in  which  all  his  barons 
and  knights  attended  him  with  horse  and  hound.  The 
stipulations  with  the  Seignior  of  Wessyngton  show 
how  strictly  the  rights  of  the  chase  were  defined.  All 
the  game  taken  by  him  in  going  to  the  forest  belonged 
to  the  bishop ;  all  taken  on  returning  belonged  to  him- 
self.! 

Hugh  de  Pusaz  (or  De  Pudsay)  during  whose  epis- 
copate we  meet  with  this  first  trace  of  the  De  Wes- 

cal  arrangement.  The  document  commences  in  the  following  manner: 
Incipit  liber  qui  vocatur  Bolden  Book.  Anno  Dominice  Incarnationis 
1183,  &c. 

The  following  is  the  memorandum  in  question : — 

Willus  de  Herteburn  habet  Wessyngton  (excepta  ecclesia  et  terra  eo- 
clesiae  pertinente)ad  excanib.  pro  villa  de  Herteburn  quam  pro  hac  quietam 
clamavit :  Et  reddit  4  L.  Et  vadit  in  magna  caza  cum  2  Leporar.  Et 
quando  commune  auxilium  venerit  debet  dare  1  Militem  ad  plus  de  aux- 
ilio,  &c. — Collectanea  Curiosa,  vol.  ii.,  p.  89. 

The  Bolden  Buke  is  a  small  folio,  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  bishop  s 
auditor,  at  Durham. 

*  The  name  is  probably  of  Saxon  origin.  It  existed  in  England  prior 
to  the  Conquest  The  village  of  Wassengtone  i8  mentioned  in  a  Saxon 
charter  as  granted  by  king  Edgar  in  973  to  Thorney  Abbey.— Collectanea 
Topographica,  iv.,  55. 

f  Hutchinson's  Durham,  vol.  ii„  p.  489- 


6  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

syngtons,  was  a  nephew  of  king  Stephen,  and  a  prelate 
of  great  pretensions ;  fond  of  appearing  with  a  train  of 
ecclesiastics  and  an  armed  retinne.  When  Richard 
Coeur  de  Lion  pnt  every  thing  at  pawn  and  sale  to 
raise  funds  for  a  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land,  the  bishop 
resolved  to  accompany  him.  More  wealthy  than  his 
sovereign,  he  made  magnificent  preparations.  Besides 
ships  to  convey  his  troops  and  retinue,  he  had  a  sump- 
tuous galley  for  himself,  fitted  up  with  a  throne  or  epis- 
copal chair  of  silver,  and  all  the  household,  and  even 
culinary  utensils,  were  of  the  same  costly  material. 
In  a  word,  had  not  the  prelate  been  induced  to  stay 
at  home,  and  aid  the  king  with  his  treasures,  by  being 
made  one  of  the  regents  of  the  kingdom,  and  Earl  of 
Northumberland  for  life,  the  De  Wessyngtons  might 
have  followed  the  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert  to  the  Holy 
wars. 

Nearly  seventy  years  afterwards  we  find  the  family 
still  retaining  its  manorial  estate  in  the  palatinate. 
The  names  of  Bondo  de  Wessyngton  and  William  his 
son  appear  on  charters  of  land,  granted  in  1257  to 
religious  houses.  Soon  after  occurred  the  wars  of  the 
barons,  in  which  the  throne  of  Henry  III.  was  shaken 
by  the  De  Mountforts.  The  chivalry  of  the  palatinate 
rallied  under  the  royal  standard.  On  the  fist  of  loyal 
knights  who  fought  for  their  sovereign  in  the  disas- 
trous battle  of  Lewes  (1264),  in  which  the  king  was 
taken  prisoner,  we  find  the  name  of  William  Weshing- 
ton,  of  Weshington.* 

During  the  splendid  pontificate  of  Anthony  Beke 

*  This  list  of  knights  was  inserted  in  the  Bolden  Book  as  an  additional 
entry.  It  is  cited  at  full  length  by  Hutchinson. — Hist  Dvrham,  vol  I,  p.  220. 


GENEALOGY.  7 


(or  Beak),  the  knights  of  the  palatinate  had  continually 
to  be  in  the  saddle,  or  buckled  in  armor.  The  prelate 
was  so  impatient  of  rest  that  he  never  took  more 
than  one  sleep,  saying  it  was  unbecoming  a  man  to 
turn  from  one  side  to  another  in  bed.  He  was  perpet- 
ually, when  within  his  diocese,  either  riding  from  one 
manor  to  another,  or  hunting  and  hawking.  Twice  he 
assisted  Edward  I.  with  all  his  force  in  invading  Scot- 
land. In  the  progress  northward  with  the  king,  the 
bishop  led  the  van,  marching  a  day  in  advance  of  the 
main  body,  with  a  mercenary  force,  paid  by  himself, 
of  one  thousand  foot  and  five  hundred  horse.  Besides 
these  he  had  his  feudatories  of  the  palatinate ;  six  ban- 
nerets and  one  hundred  and  sixty  knights,  not  one  of 
whom,  says  an  old  poem,  but  surpassed  Arthur  him- 
self, though  endowed  with  the  charmed  gifts  of  Mer- 
lin.* We  presume  the  De  Wessyngtons  were  among 
those  preux  chevaliers,  as  the  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert 
had  been  taken  from  its  shrine  on  the  occasion,  and  of 
course  all  the  armed  force  of  the  diocese  was  bound  to 
follow.  It  was  borne  in  front  of  the  army  by  a  monk 
of  Durham.  There  were  many  rich  caparisons,  says 
the  old  poem,  many  beautiful  pennons,  fluttering  from 
lances,  and  much  neighing  of  steeds.  The  hills  and 
valleys  were  covered  with  sumpter  horses  and  waggons 
laden  with  tents  and  provisions.  The  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham in  his  warlike  state  appeared,  we  are  told,  more 
like  a  powerful  prince,  than  a  priest  or  prelate. f 

*  Onques  Artous  pour  touz  ces  charmes, 
Si  beau  prisent  ne  ot  de  Merlyn. 

Sikgb  op  Kablavekock  ;  an  old  Poem  in  Norman  French 
f  Kobert  de  Graystanes,  Ang.  Sac.,  p.  746,  cited  by  Hutchinson,  vol.  i 
p.  239. 


8  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

At  the  surrender  of  the  crown  of  Scotland  by 
John  Baliol,  which  ended  this  invasion,  the  bishop  ne- 
gotiated on  the  part  of  England.  As  a  trophy  of  the 
event,  the  chair  of  Schone  used  on  the  inauguration 
of  the  Scottish  monarchs,  and  containing  the  stone  on 
which  Jacob  dreamed,  the  palladium  of  Scotland,  was 
transferred  to  England  and  deposited  in  Westminster 
Abbey.* 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  we  find  the  De  Wes- 
syngtons  still  mingling  in  chivalrous  scenes.  The  name 
of  Sir  Stephen  de  Wessyngton  appears  on  a  list  of 
knights  (nobles  chevaliers)  who  were  to  tilt  at  a  tourna- 
ment at  Dunstable  in  1334.  He  bore  for  his  device  a 
golden  rose  on  an  azure  field,  f 

He  wTas  soon  called  to  exercise  his  arms  on  a  stern- 
er field.  In  1346,  Edward  and  his  son,  the  Black 
Prince,  being  absent  with  the  armies  in  Erance,  king 
David  of  Scotland  invaded  Northumberland  with  a 
powerful  army.  Queen  Philippa,  who  had  remained 
in  England  as  regent,  immediately  took  the  field,  call- 
ing the  northern  prelates  and  nobles  to  join  her  stand- 

*  An  extract  from  an  inedited  poem,  cited  by  Nicolas  in  his  translation 
of  the  Siege  of  Carlaverock,  gives  a  striking  picture  of  the  palatinate  in 
these  days  of  its  pride  and  splendor : — 

There  valour  bowed  before  the  rood  and  book, 

And  kneeling  knighthood  served  a  prelate  lord, 
Yet  little  deigned  he  on  such  train  to  look, 

Or  glance  of  ruth  or  pity  to  afford. 
There  time  has  heard  the  peal  rung  out  at  night, 

Has  seen  from  every  tower  the  cressets  stream, 
When  the  red  bale  fire  on  yon  western  height 

Had  roused  the  warder  from  his  fitful  dream. 
Has  seen  old  Durham's  lion  banner  float 

O'er  the  proud  bulwark,  that,  with  giant  pride 
And  feet  deep  plunged  amidst  the  circling  moat, 

The  efforts  of  the  roving  Scot  defied. 

|  Collect.  Topog.  et  Genealog.  T.  iv.,  p.  895. 


GENEALOGY.  9 

ard.  They  all  hastened  to  obey.  Among  the  prelates 
was  Hatfield,  the  Bishop  of  Durham.  The  sacred 
banner  of  St.  Cuthbert  was  again  displayed,  and  the 
chivalry  of  the  palatinate  assisted  at  the  famous  battle 
of  NeviTs  cross,  near  Durham,  in  which  the  Scottish 
army  was  defeated  and  king  David  taken  prisoner. 

Queen  Philippa  hastened  with  a  victorious  train  to 
cross  the  sea  at  Dover,  and  join  king  Edward  in  his 
camp  before  Calais.  The  prelate  of  Durham  accompa- 
nied her.  His  military  train  consisted  of  three  ban- 
nerets, forty-eight  knights,  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
esquires,  and  eighty  archers,  on  horseback.*  They  all 
arrived  to  witness  the  surrender  of  Calais  (1346),  on 
which  occasion  queen  Philippa  distinguished  herself  by 
her  noble  interference  in  saving  the  lives  of  its  patriot 
citizens. 

Such  were  the  warlike  and  stately  scenes  in  which 
the  De  Wessyngtons  were  called  to  mingle  by  their 
feudal  duties  as  knights  of  the  palatinate.  A  few 
years  after  the  last  event  (1350)  William,  at  that  time 
lord  of  the  manor  of  Wessyngton,  had  license  to  set- 
tle it  and  the  village  upon  himself,  his  wife,  and  "  his 
own  right  heirs."  He  died  in  1367,  and  his  son  and 
heir,  William,  succeeded  to  the  estate.  The  latter  is 
mentioned  under  the  name  of  Sir  William  de  Wesch- 
ington,  as  one  of  the  knights  who  sat  in  the  privy 
council  of  the  county  during  the  episcopate  of  John 
Fordham.f  During  this  time  the  whole  force  of  the 
palatinate  was  roused  to  pursue  a  foray  of  Scots,  under 

*  Collier's  Eccles.  Hist,  Book  VL,  Cent.  XTV. 
f  HutchiDson,  voL  ii. 


10  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON. 

Sir  William  Douglas,  who,  having  ravaged  the  country, 
were  returning  laden  with  spoil.  It  was  the  fruit  of 
the  feud  between  the  Douglases  and  the  Percys.  The 
marauders  were  overtaken  by  Hotspur  Percy,  and 
then  took  place  the  battle  of  Otterbourne,  in  which 
Percy  was  taken  prisoner  and  Douglas  slain.* 

Por  upwards  of  two  hundred  years  the  De  Wes- 
syngtons  had  now  sat  in  the  councils  of  the  palatinate ; 
had  mingled  with  horse  and  hound  in  the  stately  hunts 
of  its  prelates,  and  followed  the  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert 
to  the  field ;  but  Sir  William,  just  mentioned,  was  the 
last  of  the  family  that  rendered  this  feudal  service. 
He  was  the  last  male  of  the  line  to  which  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  manor,  by  the  license  granted  to  his  father, 
was  confined.  It  passed  away  from  the  De  Wessyng- 
tons,  after  his  death,  by  the  marriage  of  his  only 
daughter  and  heir,  Dionisia,  with  Sir  William  Temple 
of  Studley.  By  the  year  1400  it  had  become  the 
property  of  the  Blaykestones.f 

But  though  the  name  of  De  Wessyngton  no  longer 
figured  on  the  chivalrous  roll  of  the  palatinate,  it  con- 
tinued for  a  time  to  flourish  in  the  cloisters.  In  the 
year  1416,  John  De  Wessyngton  was  elected  prior  of 
the  Benedictine  convent,  attached  to  the  cathedral. 
The  monks  of  this  convent  had  been  licensed  by  Pope 
Gregory  VII.  to  perform  the  solemn  duties  of  the  ca- 
thedral in  place  of  secular  clergy,  and  William  the 
Conqueror  had   ordained  that  the  priors  of  Durham 

*  Theare  the  Dowglas  lost  his  life, 
And  the  Percye  was  led  away. 

Foedun.     Quoted  by  Surtees,  Hist.  Durham,  voL  l 
f  Hutchinson's  Durham,  vol.  ii.,  p.  489. 


GENEALOGY.  11 

should  enjoy  all  the  liberties,  dignities  and  honors  of 
abbots ;  should  hold  their  lands  and  churches  in  their 
own  hands  and  free  disposition,  and  have  the  abbot's 
seat  on  the  left  side  of  the  choir — thus  taking  rank  of 
every  one  but  the  bishop.* 

In  the  course  of  three  centuries  and  upwards,  which 
had  since  elapsed,  these  honors  and  privileges  had  been 
subject  to  repeated  dispute  and  encroachment,  and  the 
prior  had  nearly  been  elbowed  out  of  the  abbot's  chair 
by  the  archdeacon.  John  de  Wessyngton  was  not  a 
man  to  submit  tamely  to  such  infringements  of  his 
rights.  He  forthwith  set  himself  up  as  the  champion 
of  his  priory,  and  in  a  learned  tract,  de  Junius  et  Poa- 
sessionibus  Ecclesice  Dunelm,  established  the  validity  of 
the  long  controverted  claims,  and  fixed  himself  firmly 
in  the  abbot's  chair.  His  success  in  this  controversy 
gained  him  much  renown  among  his  brethren  of  the 
cowl,  and  in  1426  he  presided  at  the  general  chapter 
of  the  order  of  St.  Benedict,  held  at  Northampton. 

The  stout  prior  of  Durham  had  other  disputes  with 
the  bishop  and  the  secular  clergy  touching  his  ecclesi- 
astical functions,  in  which  he  was  equally  victorious, 
and  several  tracts  remain  in  manuscript  in  the  dean 
and  chapter's  library ;  weapons  hung  up  in  the  church 
armory  as  memorials  of  his  polemical  battles. 

Finally,  after  fighting  divers  good  fights  for  the 
honor  of  his  priory,  and  filling  the  abbot's  chair  for 
thirty  years,  he  died,  to  use  an  ancient  phrase,  "  in  all 
the  odor  of  sanctity,"  in  1446,  and  was  buried  like  a 
soldier  on  his  battle-field,  at  the  door  of  the  north 

*  Dugdale,Monasticon  Anglicanum,    T.  i,  p.  231.    London  ed.  1846. 


12  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

aisle  of  his  church,  near  to  the  altar  of  St.  Benedict. 
On  his  tombstone  was  an  inscription  in  brass,  now  un- 
fortunately obliterated,  which  may  have  set  forth  the 
valiant  deeds  of  this  Washington  of  the  cloisters.* 

By  this  time  the  primitive  stock  of  the  De  Wes- 
syngtons  had  separated  into  divers  branches,  holding 
estates  in  various  parts  of  England ;  some  distinguish- 
ing themselves  in  the  learned  professions,  others  receiv- 
ing knighthood  for  public  services.  Their  names  are 
to  be  found  honorably  recorded  in  county  histories,  or 
engraved  on  monuments  in  time-worn  churches  and 
cathedrals,  those  garnering  places  of  English  worthies. 

By  degrees  the  seignorial  sign  of  de  disappeared 
from  before  the  family  surname,  which  also  varied 
from  Wessyngton  to  Wassington,  Wasshington,  and 
finally,  to  Washington.!  A  parish  in  the  county  of 
Durham  bears  the  name  as  last  written,  and  in  this 
probably  the  ancient  manor  of  Wessyngton  was  situ- 
ated. There  is  another  parish  of  the  name  in  the 
county  of  Sussex. 

The  branch  of  the  family  to  which  our  Washington 
immediately  belongs  sprang  from  Laurence  Washing- 
ton, Esquire,  of  Gray's  Inn,  son  of  John  Washington, 
of  Warton  in  Lancashire.  This  Laurence  Washington 
was  for  some  time  mayor  of  Northampton,  and  on  the 

•  Hutchinson's  Durham,  vol.  iL,  passim. 

f  "  The  de  came  to  be  omitted,"  says  an  old  treatise,  "  when  English- 
men and  English  manners  began  to  prevail  upon  the  recovery  of  lost 
credit" — Restitution  of  decayed  intelligence  in  antiquities.    Lond.  1634. 

About  the  time  of  Henry  VL,  says  another  treatise,  the  de  or  d'  was 
generally  dropped  from  surnames,  when  the  title  of  armiger,  esquier, 
amongst  the  heads  of  families,  and  generosus,  or  gentylman,  among  younger 
90ns  was  substituted. — Lower  on  Surnames  vol.  i. 


GENEALOGY.  13 

dissolution  of  the  priories  by  Henry  VIII.  he  received, 
in  1538,  a  grant  of  the  manor  of  Sulgrave,  in  North- 
amptonshire, with  other  lands  in  the  vicinity,  all  con- 
fiscated property  formerly  belonging  to  the  monastery 
of  St.  Andrew's. 

Sulgrave  remained  in  the  family  until  1620,  and 
was  commonly  called  "  Washington's  manor."* 

One  of  the  direct  descendants  of  the  grantee  of 
Sulgrave  was  Sir  William  Washington,  of  Packington, 
in  the  county  of  Kent.  He  married  a  sister  of  George 
Villiers,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  unfortunate  favor- 
ite of  Charles  I.  This  may  have  attached  the  Sulgrave 
Washingtons  to  the  Stuart  dynasty,  to  which  they  ad- 
hered loyally  and  generously  throughout  all  its  vicis- 
situdes. One  of  the  family,  Lieutenant  Colonel  James 
Washington,  took    up    arms    in  the  cause  of    king 


*  The  manor  of  Garsdon  m  Wiltshire  has  been  mentioned  as  the  home- 
stead of  the  ancestors  of  our  Washington.  This  is  a  mistake.  It  was  the 
residence  of  Sir  Laurence  Washington,  second  son  of  the  above-mentioned 
grantee  of  Sulgrave.  Elizabeth,  granddaughter  of  this  Sir  Laurence,  mar- 
ried Robert  Shirley,  Earl  Ferrers  and  Viscount  of  Tarnworth.  Washington 
became  a  baptismal  name  among  the  Shirleys — several  of  the  Earls  Ferrers 
have  borne  it. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  visited  Sulgrave  a  few  years  since.  It  was  in 
a  quiet  rural  neighborhood,  where  the  farm-houses  were  quaint  and  anti- 
quated. A  part  only  of  the  manor  house  remained,  and  was  inhabited  by 
a  farmer.  The  Washington  crest,  in  colored  glass,  was  to  be  seen  in  a 
window  of  what  was  now  the  buttery.  A  window  on  which  the  whole 
family  arms  was  emblazoned  had  been  removed  to  the  residence  of  the  ac- 
tual proprietor  of  the  manor.  Another  relic  of  the  ancient  manor  of  the 
Washingtons  was  a  rookery  in  a  venerable  grove  hard  by.  The  rooks, 
those  stanch  adherents  to  old  family  abodes,  still  hovered  and  cawed  about 
their  hereditary  nests.  In  the  pavement  of  the  parish  church  we  were 
ehown  a  stone  slab  bearing  effigies  on  plates  of  brass  of  Laurence  Wassh- 
ington,  gent,  and  Anne  his  wife,  and  their  four  sons  and  eleven  daughters. 
The  inscription  in  black  letter  was  dated  1564. 


14  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

Charles,  and  lost  his  life  at  the  siege  of  Pontefract 
castle.  Another  of  the  Sulgrave  line,  Sir  Henry  Wash- 
ington, son  and  heir  of  Sir  William,  before  mentioned, 
exhibited  in  the  civil  wars  the  old  chivalrous  spirit  of 
the  knights  of  the  palatinate.  He  served  under  prince 
Rupert  at  the  storming  of  Bristol  in  1643,  and  when 
the  assailants  were  beaten  off  at  every  point,  he  broke 
in  with  a  handful  of  infantry  at  a  weak  part  of  the 
wall,  made  room  for  the  horse  to  follow,  and  opened  a 
path  to  victory.* 

He  distinguished  himself  still  more  in  1646,  when 
elevated  to  the  command  of  Worcester,  the  governor 
having  been  captured  by  the  enemy.  It  was  a  time  of 
confusion  and  dismay.  The  king  had  fled  from  Ox- 
ford in  disguise  and  gone  to  the  parliamentary  camp 
at  Newark.  The  royal  cause  was  desperate.  In  this 
crisis  Sir  Henry  received  a  letter  from  Fairfax,  who, 
with  his  victorious  army,  "was  at  Haddington,  demand- 
ing the  surrender  of  Worcester.  The  following  was 
Colonel  Washington's  reply : 

Sir, 

It  is  acknowledged  by  your  books  and  by  report 
of  your  own  quarter,  that  the  king  is  in  some  of  your 
armies.  That  granted,  it  may  be  easy  for  you  to  pro- 
cure his  Majesty's  commands  for  the  disposal  of  this 
garrison.  Till  then  I  shall  make  good  the  trust  reposed 
in  me.  As  for  conditions,  if  I  shall  be  necessitated, 
I  shall  make  the  best  I  can.  The  worst  I  know  and 
fear  not ;  if  I  had,  the  profession  of  a  soldier  had  not 

*  Clarendon,  Book  vii 


GENEALOGY.  1 5 

been  begun,  nor  so  long  continued  by  your  Excellency's 
humble  servant, 

Henry  Washington.* 

In  a  few  days  Colonel  Whalley  invested  the  city  with 
five  thousand  troops.  Sir  Henry  despatched  messen- 
ger after  messenger  in  quest  of  the  king  to  know  his 
pleasure.  None  of  them  returned.  A  female  emis- 
sary was  equally  unavailing.  Week  after  week  elapsed, 
until  nearly  three  months  had  expired.  Provisions 
began  to  fail.  The  city  was  in  confusion.  The  troops 
grew  insubordinate.  Yet  Sir  Henry  persisted  in  the 
defence.  General  Fairfax,  with  1,500  horse  and  foot, 
was  daily  expected.  There  was  not  powder  enough 
for  an  hour's  contest  should  the  city  be  stormed.  Still 
Sir  Henry  "  awaited  his  Majesty's  commands." 

At  length  news  arrived  that  the  king  had  issued  an 
order  for  the  surrender  of  all  towns,  castles,  and  forts. 
A  printed  copy  of  the  order  was  shown  to  Sir  Henry, 
and  on  the  faith  of  that  document  he  capitulated  (19th 
of  July,  1646)  on  honorable  terms,  won  by  his  forti- 
tude and  perseverance.  Those  who  believe  hi  hered- 
itary virtues  may  see  foreshadowed  in  the  conduct 
of  this  Washington  of  Worcester,  the  magnanimous 
constancy  of  purpose,  the  disposition  to  "  hope  against 
hope,"  which  bore  our  Washington  triumphantly 
through  the  darkest  days  of  our  revolution. 

We  have  little  note  of  the  Sulgrave  branch  of  the 
family  after  the  death  of  Charles  I.  and  the  exile  of 
his  successor.     England,  during  the  protectorate,  be- 

*  Greene's  Antiquities  of  Worcester,  p.  273. 


16  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON. 

came  an  uncomfortable  residence  to  such  as  had  sig- 
nalized themselves  as  adherents  to  the  house  of  Stuart. 
In  1655,  an  attempt  at  a  general  insurrection  drew  on 
them  the  vengeance  of  Cromwell.  Many  of  their  party 
who  had  no  share  in  the  conspiracy,  yet  sought  refuge 
in  other  lands,  where  they  might  live  free  from  moles- 
tation. This  may  have  been  the  case  with  two  brothers, 
John  and  Andrew  Washington,  great-grandsons  of 
the  grantee  of  Sulgrave,  and  uncles  of  Sir  Henry  the 
gallant  defender  of  Worcester.  John  had  for  some 
time  resided  at  South  Cave,  in  the  East  Riding  of  York- 
shire ;*  but  now  emigrated  with  his  brother  to  Vir- 
ginia ;  which  colony,  from  its  allegiance  to  the  exiled 
monarch  and  the  Anglican  Church,had  become  a  favor- 
ite resort  of  the  Cavaliers.  The  brothers  arrived  in 
Virginia  in  1657,  and  purchased  lands  in  Westmore- 
land County,  on  the  northern  neck,  between  the  Poto- 
mac and  Rappahannock  rivers.  John  married  a  Miss 
Anne  Pope,  of  the  same  county,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence on  Bridges  Creek,  near  where  it  falls  into  the 
Potomac.  He  became  an  extensive  planter,  and,  in 
process  of  time,  a  magistrate  and  member  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses.  Having  a  spark  of  the  old  mili- 
tary fire  of  the  family,  we  find  him,  as  Colonel  Wash- 
ington, leading  the  Virginia  forces,  in  co-operation 
with  those  of  Maryland,  against  a  band  of  Seneca  In- 
dians, who  were  ravaging  the  settlements  along  the 
Potomac.     In  honor  of  his  public  services  and  private 

*  South  Cave  is  near  the  Humber.  "  In  the  vicinity  is  Cave  Castle,  an 
embattled  edifice.  It  has  a  noble  collection  of  paintings,  including  a  por- 
trait of  General  Washington,  whose  ancestors  possessed  a  portion  of  the 
estate." — Lewes,  Topog.  Diet  vol  I,  p.  530 


GENEALOGY.  17 

virtues,  the  parish  in  which  he  resided  was  called  after 
him,  and  still  bears  the  name  of  Washington.  He 
lies  buried  in  a  vault  on  Bridges  Creek,  which,  for 
generations,  was  the  family  place  of  sepulture. 

The  estate  continued  in  the  family.  His  grandson 
Augustine,  the  father  of  our  Washington,  was  born 
there  in  1694.  He  was  twice  married;  first  (April 
20th,  1715),  to  Jane,  daughter  of  Caleb  Butler,  Esq., 
of  Westmoreland  County,  by  whom  he  had  four  chil- 
dren, of  whom  only  two,  Lawrence  and  Augustine, 
survived  the  years  of  childhood;  their  mother  died 
November  24th,  1728,  and  was  buried  in  the  family 
vault. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1730,  he  married  in  second 
nuptials,  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Ball,  a  young 
and  beautiful  girl,  said  to  be  the  belle  of  the  Northern 
Neck.  By  her  he  had  four  sons,  George,  Samuel, 
John  Augustine,  and  Charles;  and  two  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  or  Betty,  as  she  was  commonly  called,  and 
Mildred,  who  died  in  infancy. 

George,  the  eldest,  the  subject  of  this  biography, 
was  born  on  the  22d  of  Eeb.  (11th,  O.  S.),  1732,in  the 
homestead  on  Bridges  Creek.  This  house  commanded 
a  view  over  many  miles  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  oppo- 
site shore  of  Maryland.  It  had  probably  been  pur- 
chased with  the  property,  and  was  one  of  the  primitive 
farm-houses  of  Virginia.  The  roof  was  steep,  and 
sloped  down  into  low  projecting  eaves.  It  had  four 
rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  and  others  in  the  attic,  and 
an  immense  chimney  at  each  end.  Not  a  vestige  of  it 
remains.  Two  or  three  decayed  fig-trees,  with  shrubs 
and  vines,  linger  about  the  place,  and  here  and  there 
VOL    i. — 2 


18  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

a  flower  grown  wild  serves  "  to  mark  where  a  garden 
has  been."  Such,  at  least,  was  the  case  a  few  years 
since ;  but  these  may  have  likewise  passed  away.  A 
stone*  marks  the  site  of  the  house,  and  an  inscription 
denotes  its  being  the  birthplace  of  Washington. 

We  have  entered  with  some  minuteness  into  this 
genealogical  detail;  tracing  the  family  step  by  step 
through  the  pages  of  historical  documents  for  upwards 
of  six  centuries ;  and  we  have  been  tempted  to  do  so 
by  the  documentary  proofs  it  gives  of  the  lineal  and 
enduring  worth  of  the  race.  We  have  shown  that, 
for  many  generations,  and  through  a  variety  of  eventful 
scenes,  it  has  maintained  an  equality  of  fortune  and 
respectability,  and  whenever  brought  to  the  test  has 
acquitted  itself  with  honor  and  loyalty.  Hereditary 
rank  may  be  an  illusion ;  but  hereditary  virtue  gives 
a  patent  of  innate  nobleness  beyond  all  the  blazonry 
of  the  Heralds'  College. 

*  Placed  there  by  George  W.  Custis,  Esq. 


CHAPTER  II. 

the  home  of  washington's  boyhood — his  eaelt  education — law- 
eenoe  washington  and  his  campaign  in  the  west  indies — 
death  of  Washington's  father — the  widowed  mother  and 
her  children — school  exercises. 

Not  long  after  the  birth  of  George,  his  father  removed 
to  an  estate  in  Stafford  County,  opposite  Fredericks- 
burg. The  house  was  similar  in  style  to  the  one  at 
Bridges  Creek,  and  stood  on  a  rising  ground  overlook- 
ing a  meadow  which  bordered  the  Rappahannock. 
This  was  the  home  of  George's  boyhood ;  the  meadow 
was  his  play-ground,  and  the  scene  of  his  early  ath- 
letic sports ;  but  this  home,  like  that  in  which  he  was 
born,  has  disappeared ;  the  site  is  only  to  be  traced  by 
fragments  of  bricks,  china,  and  earthenware. 

In  those  days  the  means  of  instruction  in  Virginia 
were  limited,  and  it  was  the  custom  among  the  wealthy 
planters  to  send  their  sons  to  England  to  complete 
their  education.  This  was  done  by  Augustine  Wash- 
ington with  his  eldest  son  Lawrence,  then  about  fifteen 
years  of  age,  and  whom  he  no  doubt  considered  the 
future  head  of  the  family.     George  was  yet  in  early 


20  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1740. 

childhood :  as  his  intellect  dawned  he  received  the  ru- 
diments of  education  in  the  best  establishment  for  the 
purpose  that  the  neighborhood  afforded.  It  was  what 
was  called,  in  popular  parlance,  an  "  old  field  school- 
house  "  humble  enough  in  its  pretensions,  and  kept  by 
one  of  his  father's  tenants  named  Hobby,  who  more- 
over was  sexton  of  the  parish.  The  instruction  doled 
out  by  him  must  have  been  of  the  simplest  kind,  read- 
ing, writing,  and  ciphering,  perhaps ;  but  George  had 
the  benefit  of  mental  and  moral  culture  at  home,  from 
an  excellent  father. 

Several  traditional  anecdotes  have  been  given  to 
the  world,  somewhat  prolix  and  trite,  but  illustrative 
of  the  familiar  and  practical  manner  in  which  Augus- 
tine Washington,  in  the  daily  intercourse  of  domestic 
life,  impressed  the  ductile  mind  of  his  child  with  high 
maxims  of  religion  and  virtue,  and  imbued  him  with  a 
spirit  of  justice  and  generosity,  and  above  all  a  scrupu- 
lous love  of  truth. 

When  George  was  about  seven  or  eight  years  old 
his  brother  Lawrence  returned  from  England,  a  well- 
educated  and  accomplished  youth.  There  was  a  dif- 
ference of  fourteen  years  in  their  ages,  which  may  have 
been  one  cause  of  the  strong  attachment  which  took 
place  between  them.  Lawrence  looked  down  with  a 
protecting  eye  upon  the  boy,  whose  dawning  intelli- 
gence and  perfect  rectitude  won  his  regard;  while 
George  looked  up  to  his  manly  and  cultivated  brother 
as  a  model  in  mind  and  manners.  We  call  particu- 
lar attention  to  this  brotherly  interchange  of  affection, 
from  the  influence  it  had  on  all  the  future  career  of 
the  subject  of  this  memoir. 


1740.]  LAWRENCE    WASHINGTON.  21 

Lawrence  Washington  had  something  of  the  old 
military  spirit  of  the  family,  and  cirenmstances  soon 
called  it  into  action.  Spanish  depredations  on  British 
commerce  had  recently  provoked  reprisals.  Admiral 
Vernon,  commander-in-chief  in  the  West  Indies,  had 
accordingly  captured  Porto  Bello,  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien.  The  Spaniards  were  preparing  to  revenge  the 
blow ;  the  Erench  were  fitting  out  ships  to  aid  them. 
Troops  were  embarked  in  England  for  another  cam- 
paign in  the  West  Indies ;  a  regiment  of  four  battalions 
was  to  be  raised  in  the  colonies  and  sent  to  join  them 
at  Jamaica.  There  was  a  sudden  outbreak  of  milita- 
ry ardor  in  the  province ;  the  sound  of  drum  and  fife 
was  heard  in  the  villages  with  the  parade  of  recruit- 
ing parties.  Lawrenca  Washington,  now  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  caught  the  infection.  He  obtained  a 
captain's  commission  in  the  newly  raised  regiment,  and 
embarked  with  it  for  the  West  Indies  in  1740.  He 
served  in  the  joint  expeditions  of  Admiral  Vernon  and 
General  Wentworth,  in  the  land  forces  commanded  by 
the  latter,  and  acquired  the  friendship  and  confidence 
of  both  of  those  officers.  He  was  present  at  the  siege 
of  Carthagena,  when  it  was  bombarded  by  the  fleet,  and 
when  the  troops  attempted  to  escalade  the  citadel.  It 
was  an  ineffectual  attack ;  the  ships  could  not  get  near 
enough  to  throw  their  shells  into  the  town,  and  the 
scaling  ladders  proved  too  short.  That  part  of  the 
attack,  however,  with  which  Lawrence  was  concerned, 
distinguished  itself  by  its  bravery.  The  troops  sus- 
tained unflinching  a  destructive  fire  for  several  hours, 
and  at  length  retired  with  honor,  their  small  force 


22  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1742 

having  sustained  a  loss  of  about  six  hundred  killed  and 
wounded. 

We  have  here  the  secret  of  that  martial  spirit  so 
often  cited  of  George  in  his  boyish  days.  He  had  seen 
his  brother  fitted  out  for  the  wars.  He  had  heard  by 
letter  and  otherwise  of  the  warlike  scenes  in  which  he 
was  mingling.  All  his  amusements  took  a  military 
turn.  He  made  soldiers  of  his  schoolmates ;  they  had 
their  mimic  parades,  reviews,  and  sham  fights.  A 
boy  named  William  Bustle  was  sometimes  his  compet- 
itor, but  George  was  commander-in-chief  of  Hobby's 
school. 

Lawrence  Washington  returned  home  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1742,  the  campaigns  in  the  West  Indies  being 
ended,  and  Admiral  Vernon  and  General  Wentwortli 
being  recalled  to  England.  It  was  the  intention  of 
Lawrence  to  rejoin  his  regiment  in  that  country,  and 
seek  promotion  in  the  army,  but  circumstances  com- 
pletely altered  his  plans.  He  formed  an  attachment 
to  Anne,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Honorable  Wil- 
liam Fairfax,  of  Fairfax  County ;  his  addresses  were 
well  received,  and  they  became  engaged.  Their  nup- 
tials were  delayed  by  the  sudden  and  untimely  death 
of  his  father,  which  took  place  on  the  12th  of  April, 
1743,  after  a  short  but  severe  attack  of  gout  in  the 
stomach,  and  when  but  forty-nine  years  of  age. 
George  had  been  absent  from  home  on  a  visit  during 
his  father's  illness,  and  just  returned  in  time  to  receive 
a  parting  look  of  affection. 

Augustine  Washington  left  large  possessions,  distri- 
buted by  will  among  his  children.  To  Lawrence,  the 
estate  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  with  other  real 


1743.J  Washington's  mother.  23 

property,  and  several  shares  in  iron  works.  To  Aug- 
ustine, the  second  son  by  the  first  marriage,  the  old 
homestead  and  estate  in  Westmoreland.  The  children 
by  the  second  marriage  were  severally  well  provided 
for,  and  George,  when  he  became  of  age,  was  to  have 
the  house  and  lands  on  the  Rappahannock. 

In  the  month  of  July  the  marriage  of  Lawrence 
with  Miss  Fairfax  took  place.  He  now  gave  up  all 
thoughts  of  foreign  service,  and  settled  himself  on  his 
estate  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  of  Mount  Vernon,  in  honor  of  the  admiral. 

Augustine  took  up  his  abode  at  the  homestead  on 
Bridges  Creek,  and  married  Anne,  daughter  and  co- 
heiress of  William  Aylett,  Esquire,  of  Westmoreland 
County.  George,  now  eleven  years  of  age,  and  the 
other  children  of  the  second  marriage,  had  been  left  un- 
der the  guardianship  of  their  mother,  to  whom  was  in- 
trusted the  proceeds  of  all  their  property  until  they 
should  severally  come  of  age.  She  proved  herself  wor- 
thy of  the  trust.  Endowed  with  plain,  direct  good 
sense,  thorough  conscientiousness,  and  prompt  decision, 
she  governed  her  family  strictly,  but  kindly,  exacting 
deference  while  she  inspired  affection.  George,  being 
her  eldest  son,  was  thought  to  be  her  favorite,  yet  she 
never  gave  him  undue  preference,  and  the  implicit  def- 
erence exacted  from  him  in  childhood  continued  to  be 
habitually  observed  by  him  to  the  day  of  her  death. 
He  inherited  from  her  a  high  temper  and  a  spirit  of 
command,  but  her  early  precepts  and  example  taught 
him  to  restrain  and  govern  that  temper,  and  to  square 
his  conduct  on  the  exact  principles  of  equity  and  jus- 
tice. 


24  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1746. 

Tradition  gives  an  interesting  picture  of  the  widow, 
with  her  little  flock  gathered  round  her,  as  was  her 
daily  wont,  reading  to  them  lessons  of  religion  and 
morality  out  of  some  standard  work.  Her  favorite 
volume  was  Sir  Matthew  Hale's  Contemplations,  moral 
and  divine.  The  admirable  maxims  therein  contained, 
for  outward  action  as  wrell  as  self-government,  sank 
deep  into  the  mind  of  George,  and,  doubtless,  had  a 
great  influence  in  forming  his  character.  They  certain- 
ly were  exemplified  in  his  conduct  throughout  life. 
This  mother's  manual,  bearing  his  mother's  name, 
Mary  Washington,  written  with  her  own  hand,  was 
ever  preserved  by  him  with  filial  care,  and  may  still  be 
seen  in  the  archives  of  Mount  Vernon.  A  precious 
document !  Let  those  who  wish  to  know  the  moral 
foundation  of  his  character  consult  its  pages. 

Having  no  longer  the  benefit  of  a  father's  instruc- 
tions at  home,  and  the  scope  of  tuition  of  Hobby,  the 
sexton,  being  too  limited  for  the  growing  wants  of  his 
pupil,  George  was  now  sent  to  reside  with  Augustine 
Washington,  at  Bridges  Creek,  and  enjoy  the  benefit 
of  a  superior  school  in  that  neighborhood,  kept  by  a 
Mr.  Williams.  His  education,  however,  was  plain  and 
practical.  He  never  attempted  the  learned  languages, 
nor  manifested  any  inclination  for  rhetoric  or  belles- 
lettres.  His  object,  or  the  object  of  his  friends,  seems 
to  have  been  confined  to  fitting  him  for  ordinary  busi- 
ness. His  manuscript  school  books  still  exist,  and  are 
models  of  neatness  and  accuracy.  One  of  them,  it  is 
true,  a  ciphering  book,  preserved  in  the  library  at 
Mount  Vernon,  has  some  school-boy  attempts  at  cali- 


1746.J  SCHOOL   EXERCISES.  25 

graphy ;  nondescript  birds,  executed  with,  a  flourish  of 
the  pen,  or  profiles  of  faces,  probably  intended  for  those 
of  his  schoolmates ;  the  rest  are  all  grave  and  business 
like.  Before  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  he  had 
copied  into  a  volume  forms  for  all  kinds  of  mercantile 
and  legul  papers;  bills  of  exchange,  notes  of  hand, 
deeds,  bonds,  and  the  like.  This  early  self-tuition 
gave  him  throughout  life  a  lawyer's  skill  in  drafting 
documents,  and  a  merchant's  exactness  in  keeping  ac- 
counts ;  so  that  all  the  concerns  of  his  various  estates ; 
his  dealings  with  his  domestic  stewards  and  foreign 
agents;  his  accounts  with  government;  and  all  his 
financial  transactions  are  to  this  day  to  be  seen  posted 
up  in  books,  in  his  own  handwriting,  monuments  of 
his  method  and  unwearied  accuracy. 

He  was  a  self-disciplinarian  in  physical  as  well  as 
mental  matters,  and  practised  himself  in  all  kinds  of 
athletic  exercises,  such  as  running,  leaping,  wrestling, 
pitching  quoits  and  tossing  bars.  His  frame  even  in 
infancy  had  been  large  and  powerful,  and  he  now  ex- 
celled most  of  his  playmates  in  contests  of  agility  and 
strength.  As  a  proof  of  his  muscular  power,  a  place 
is  still  pointed  out  at  Fredericksburg,  near  the  lower 
ferry,  where,  when  a  boy,  he  flung  a  stone  across  the 
Rappahannock.  In  horsemanship  too  he  already  ex- 
celled, and  was  ready  to  back,  and  able  to  manage  the 
most  fiery  steed.  Traditional  anecdotes  remain  of 
his  achievements  in  this  respect. 

Above  all,  his  inherent  probity,  and  the  principles 
of  justice  on  which  he  regulated  all  his  conduct,  even 
at  this  early  period  of  life,  were  soon  appreciated  by 
his  schoolmates ;  he  was  referred  to  as  an  umpire  in 


26  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1740. 

their  disputes,  and  his  decisions  were  never  reversed. 
As  he  had  formerly  been  military  chieftain,  he  was  now 
legislator  of  the  school ;  thus  displaying  in  boyhood  a 
type  of  the  future  man. 


CHAPTER   III. 

patebnal  conduct  of  an  eldeb  beothee — the  faibfax  family 
— Washington's  code  of  moeals  and  mannees — soldiers'  tales 
— theie  influence — washington  peepaees  fob  the  navy — a 
mother's  objections — eetuen  to  school — studies  and  exer- 
cises— a  school-boy  passion— the  lowland  beauty — love  dit- 
ties at  mount  vernon — visit  to  belvoie — lobd  faibfax — his 
character — fox-hunting  a  remedy  fob  love — peoposition  fob 
a  surveying  expedition. 

The  attachment  of  Lawrence  Washington  to  his 
brother  George,  seems  to  have  acquired  additional 
strength  and  tenderness  on  their  father's  death  ;  he 
now  took  a  truly  paternal  interest  in  his  concerns,  and 
had  him  as  frequently  as  possible  a  guest  at  Mount 
Vernon.  Lawrence  had  deservedly  become  a  popular 
and  leading  personage  in  the  country.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  adjutant- 
general  of  the  district,  with  the  rank  of  major  and  a 
regular  salary.  A  frequent  sojourn  with  him  brought 
George  into  familiar  intercourse  with  the  family  of  his 
father-in-law,  the  Hon.  William  Fairfax,  who  resided 
at  a  beautiful  seat  called  Belvoir,  a  few  miles  below 
Mount  Vernon,  and  on  the  same  woody  ridge  border- 
ing the  Potomac. 


28  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1746 

William  Fairfax  was  a  man  of  liberal  education  and 
intrinsic  worth  ;  he  had  seen  much  of  the  world,  and 
his  mind  had  been  enriched  and  ripened  by  varied  and 
adventurous  experience.  Of  an  ancient  English  family 
in  Yorkshire,  he  had  entered  the  army  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one ;  had  served  with  honor  both  in  the  East 
and  West  Indies,  and  officiated  as  governor  of  New 
Providence,  after  having  aided  in  rescuing  it  from  pi- 
rates. Eor  some  years  past  he  had  resided  in  Virginia, 
to  manage  the  immense  landed  estates  of  his  cousin, 
Lord  Fairfax,  and  lived  at  Belvoir  in  the  style  of  an 
English  country  gentleman,  surrounded  by  an  intelli- 
gent and  cultivated  family  of  sons  and  daughters. 

An  intimacy  with  a  family  like  this,  in  which  the 
frankness  and  simplicity  of  rural  and  colonial  life  were 
united  with  European  refinement,  could  not  but  have 
a  beneficial  effect  in  moulding  the  character  and  man- 
ners of  a  somewhat  homebred  school-boy.  It  was  prob- 
ably his  intercourse  with  them,  and  his  ambition  to 
acquit  himself  well  in  their  society,  that  set  him  upon 
compiling  a  code  of  morals  and  manners,  which  still 
exists  in  a  manuscript  in  his  own  handwriting,  entitled 
"  rules  for  behavior  in  company  and  conversation."  It 
is  extremely  minute  and  circumstantial.  Some  of  the 
rules  for  personal  deportment  extend  to  such  trivial 
matters,  and  are  so  quaint  and  formal,  as  almost  to 
provoke  a  smile ;  but  in  the  main,  a  better  manual  of 
conduct  could  not  be  put  into  the  hands  of  a  youth. 
The  whole  code  evinces  that  rigid  propriety  and  self- 
control  to  which  he  subjected  himself,  and  by  which 
he  brought  all  the  impulses  of  a  somewhat  ardent  tem- 
per under  conscientious  government. 


1746.J  soldiers'  tales.  29 

Other  influences  were  brought  to  bear  on  George 
during  his  visit  at  Mount  Vernon.  His  brother  Law- 
rence still  retained  some  of  his  military  inclinations, 
fostered  no  doubt  by  his  post  of  adjutant-general. 
William  Fairfax,  as  we  have  shown,  had  been  a  soldier, 
and  in  many  trying  scenes.  Some  of  Lawrence's  com- 
rades of  the  provincial  regiment,  who  had  served  with 
him  in  the  West  Indies,  were  occasional  visitors  at 
Mount  Vernon:  or  a  ship  of  war,  possibly  one  of 
Vernon's  old  fleet,  would  anchor  in  the  Potomac,  and 
its  officers  be  welcome  guests  at  the  tables  of  Lawrence 
and  his  father-in-law.  Thus  military  scenes  on  sea 
and  shore  would  become  the  topics  of  conversation. 
The  capture  of  Porto  Bello;  the  bombardment  of 
Carthagena ;  old  stories  of  cruisings  in  the  East  and 
West  Indies,  and  campaigns  against  the  pirates.  We 
can  picture  to  ourselves  George,  a  grave  and  earnest 
boy,  with  an  expanding  intellect,  and  a  deep-seated 
passion  for  enterprise,  listening  to  such  conversations 
with  a  kindling  spirit  and  a  growing  desire  for  military 
life.  In  this  way  most  probably  was  produced  that 
desire  to  enter  the  navy  which  he  evinced  when  about 
fourteen  years  of  age.  The  opportunity  for  gratifying 
it  appeared  at  hand.  Ships  of  war  frequented  the  col- 
onies, and  at  times,  as  we  have  hinted,  were  anchored 
in  the  Potomac.  The  inclination  was  encouraged  by 
Lawrence  Washington  and  Mr.  Fairfax.  Lawrence 
retained  pleasant  recollections  of  his  cruisings  in  the 
fleet  of  Admiral  Vernon,  and  considered  the  naval 
service  a  popular  path  to  fame  and  fortune.  George 
was  at  a  suitable  age  to  enter  the  navy.  The  great 
difficulty  was  to  procure  the   assent  of   his   mother. 


30  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1746. 

She  was  brought,  however,  to  acquiesce ;  a  midship- 
man's warrant  was  obtained,  and  it  is  even  said  that 
the  luggage  of  the  youth  was  actually  on  board  of  a 
man  of  war,  anchored  in  the  river  just  below  Mount 
Vernon. 

At  the  eleventh  hour  the  mother's  heart  faltered. 
This  was  her  eldest  born.  A  son,  whose  strong  and 
steadfast  character  promised  to  be  a  support  to  herself 
and  a  protection  to  her  other  children.  The  thought 
of  his  being  completely  severed  from  her,  and  exposed 
to  the  hardships  and  perils  of  a  boisterous  profession, 
overcame  even  her  resolute  mind,  and  at  her  urgent 
remonstrances  the  nautical  scheme  was  given  up. 

To  school,  therefore,  George  returned,  and  contin- 
ued his  studies  for  nearly  two  years  longer,  devoting 
himself  especially  to  mathematics,  and  accomplishing 
nimself  in  those  branches  calculated  to  fit  him  either 
for  civil  or  military  service.  Among  these,  one  of  the 
most  important  in  the  actual  state  of  the  country  was 
land  surveying.  In  this  he  schooled  himself  thor- 
oughly, using  the  highest  processes  of  the  art ;  making 
surveys  about  the  neighborhood,  and  keeping  regular 
field  books,  some  of  which  we  have  examined,  in  which 
the  boundaries  and  measurements  of  the  fields  surveyed 
were  carefully  entered,  and  diagrams  made,  with  a 
neatness  and  exactness  as  if  the  whole  related  to  im- 
portant land  transactions  instead  of  being  mere  school 
exercises.  Thus,  in  his  earliest  days,  there  was  perse- 
verance and  completeness  in  all  his  undertakings. 
Nothing  was  left  half  done,  or  done  in  a  hurried  and 
slovenly  manner.  The  habit  of  mind  thus  cultivated 
continued  throughout  life ;  so  that  however  complicat- 


1747.J  A    SCHOOL-BOY    PASSION.  31 

ed  his  tasks  and  overwhelming  his  cares,  in  the  ardu- 
ous and  hazardous  situations  in  which  he  was  often 
placed,  he  found  time  to  do  every  thing,  and  to  do  it 
well.  He  had  acquired  the  magic  of  method,  which  of 
itself  works  wonders. 

In  one  of  these  manuscript  memorials  of  his  practi- 
cal studies  and  exercises,  we  have  come  upon  some  doc- 
uments singularly  in  contrast  with  all  that  we  have 
just  cited,  and  with  his  apparently  unromantic  charac- 
ter. In  a  word,  there  are  evidences  in  his  own  hand- 
writing, that,  before  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  had 
conceived  a  passion  for  some  unknown  beauty,  so  seri- 
ous as  to  disturb  his  otherwise  well-regulated  mind, 
and  to  make  him  really  unhappy.  Why  this  juvenile 
attachment  was  a  source  of  unhappiness  we  have  no 
positive  means  of  ascertaining.  r  Perhaps  the  object  of 
it  may  have  considered  him  a  mere  school-boy,  and 
treated  him  as  such ;  or  his  own  shyness  may  have  been 
in  his  way,  and  his  "  rules  for  behavior  and  conversa- 
tion "  may  as  yet  have  sat  awkwardly  on  him,  and 
rendered  him  formal  and  ungainly  when  he  most  sought 
to  please.  Even  in  later  years  he  was  apt  to  be  silent 
and  embarrassed  in  female  society.  "  He  was  a  very 
bashful  young  man,"  said  an  old  lady,  whom  he  used 
to  visit  when  they  were  both  in  their  nonage.  "  I  used 
often  to  wish  that  he  would  talk  more/' 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  reason,  this  early 
attachment  seems  to  have  been  a  source  of  poignant  dis- 
comfort to  him.  It  clung  to  him  after  he  took  a  final 
leave  of  school  in  the  autumn  of  1747,  and  went  to  re- 
side with  his  brother  Lawrence  at  Mount  Vernon. 
Here  he  continued  his  mathematical  studies  and  his 


32  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1747. 

practice  in  surveying,  disturbed  at  times  by  recurrences 
of  his  unlucky  passion.  Though  by  no  means  of  a 
poetical  temperament,  the  waste  pages  of  his  journal 
betray  several  attempts  to  pour  forth  his  amorous 
sorrows  in  verse.  They  are  mere  common-place 
rhymes,  such  as  lovers  at  his  age  are  apt  to  write,  in 
which  he  bewails  his  "  poor  restless  heart,  wounded  by 
Cupid's  dart,"  and  "bleeding  for  one  who  remains 
pitiless  of  his  griefs  and  woes." 

The  tenor  of  some  of  his  verses  induces  us  to  believe 
that  he  never  told  his  love ;  but,  as  we  have  alreadv 
surmised,  was  prevented  by  his  bashfulness. 

"  Ah,  woe  is  me,  that  I  should  love  and  conceal ; 
Long  have  I  wished  and  never  dare  reveal." 

It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  one's  self  to  the  idea  of 
the  cool  and  sedate  Washington,  the  great  champion  of 
American  liberty,  a  woe-worn  lover  in  his  youthful 
days,  "sighing  like  furnace,"  and  inditing  plaintive 
verses  about  the  groves  of  Mount  Vernon.  We  are 
glad  of  an  opportunity,  however,  of  penetrating  to  his 
native  feelings,  and  finding  that  under  his  studied  de- 
corum and  reserve  he  had  a  heart  of  flesh,  throbbing 
with  the  warm  impulses  of  human  nature. 

Being  a  favorite  of  Sir  William  Fairfax,  he  was  now 
an  occasional  inmate  of  Belvoir.  Among  the  persons 
at  present  residing  there,  was  Thomas  Lord  Fairfax, 
cousin  of  William  Fairfax,  and  of  whose  immense  land- 
ed property  the  latter  was  the  agent.  As  this  noble- 
man was  one  of  Washington's  earliest  friends,  and  in 
some  degree  the  founder  of  his  fortunes,  his  character 
and  history  are  worthy  of  especial  note. 


1747.]  LORD    FAIRFAX.  33 

Lord  Fairfax  was  now  nearly  sixty  years  of  age, 
upwards  of  six  feet  high,  gaunt  and  raw-boned,  near- 
sighted, with  light  gray  eyes,  sharp  features,  and  an 
aquiline  nose.  However  ungainly  his  present  appear- 
ance, he  had  figured  to  advantage  in  London  life  in  his 
younger  days.  He  had  received  his  education  at  the 
university  of  Oxford,  where  he  acquitted  himself  with 
credit.  He  afterwards  held  a  commission,  and  remain- 
ed for  some  time  in  a  regiment  of  horse  called  the 
Blues.  His  title  and  connections  of  course  gave  him 
access  to  the  best  society,  in  which  he  acquired  addi- 
tional currency  by  contributing  a  paper  or  two  to  Ad- 
dison's Spectator,  then  in  great  vogue. 

In  the  height  of  his  fashionable  career,  he  became 
strongly  attached  to  a  young  lady  of  rank ;  paid  his 
addresses,  and  was  accepted.  The  wedding  day  was 
fixed;  the  wedding  dresses  were  provided;  together 
with  servants  and  equipages  for  the  matrimonial  estab- 
lishment. Suddenly  the  lady  broke  her  engagement. 
She  had  been  dazzled  by  the  superior  brilliancy  of  a 
ducal  coronet. 

It  was  a  cruel  blow,  alike  to  the  affection  and  pride 
of  Lord  Fairfax,  and  wrought  a  change  in  both  charactei 
and  conduct.  From  that  time  he  almost  avoided  the 
sex,  and  became  shy  and  embarrassed  in  their  society, 
excepting  among  those  with  whom  he  was  connected 
or  particularly  intimate.  This  may  have  been  among 
the  reasons  which  ultimately  induced  him  to  abandon 
the  gay  world,  and  bury  himself  in  the  wilds  of  Amer- 
ica. He  made  a  voyage  to  Virginia  about  the  year 
1739,  to  visit  his  vast  estates  there.  These  he  inher- 
ited from  his  mother,  Catharine,  daughter  of  Thomas, 

VOL.    I. 3 


34  life   or  WASHINGTON.  [1748. 

Lord  Culpepper,  to  whom  they  had  been  granted  by 
Charles  II.  The  original  grant  was  for  all  the  lands 
lying  between  the  Rappahannock  and  Potomac  rivers ; 
meaning  thereby,  it  is  said,  merely  the  territory  on  the 
northern  neck,  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  His  lordship, 
however,  discovering  that  the  Potomac  headed  in  the 
Allegany  Mountains,  returned  to  England  and  claimed 
a  correspondent  definition  of  his  grant.  It  was  ar- 
ranged by  compromise ;  extending  his  domain  into  the 
Allegany  Mountains,  and  comprising,  among  other 
lands,  a  great  portion  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 

Lord  Fairfax  had  been  delighted  with  his  visit  to 
Virginia.  The  amenity  of  the  climate,  the  magnifi- 
cence of  th3  forest  scenery,  the  abundance  of  game, — 
all  pointed  it  out  as  a  favored  land.  He  was  pleased, 
too,  with  the  frank,  cordial  character  of  the  Virginians, 
and  their  independent  mode  of  life ;  and  returned  to  it 
with  the  resolution  of  taking  up  his  abode  there  for  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  His  early  disappointment  in 
love  was  the  cause  of  some  eccentricities  in  his  con- 
duct ;  yet  he  was  amiable  and  courteous  in  his  man- 
ners, and  of  a  liberal  and  generous  spirit. 

Another  inmate  of  Belvoir  at  this  time  was  George 
William  Fairfax,  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  proprietor.  He  had  been  educated 
in  England,  and  since  his  return  had  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Colonel  Carey,  of  Hampton,  on  James  River. 
He  had  recently  brought  home  his  bride  and  her  sister 
to  his  father's  house. 

The  merits  of  Washington  were  known  and  appreciat- 
ed by  the  Fairfax  family.  Though  not  quite  sixteen  years 
of  age,  he  no  longer  seemed  a  boy,  nor  was  he  treated  as 


1748.]  THE    LOWLAND    BEAUTY.  35 

such.  Tall,  athletic,  and  manly  for  his  years,  his  early 
self-training,  and  the  code  of  conduct  he  had  devised, 
gave  a  gravity  and  decision  to  his  conduct ;  his  frank- 
ness and  modesty  inspired  cordial  regard,  and  the  mel- 
ancholy, of  which  he  speaks,  may  have  produced  a  soft- 
ness in  his  manner  calculated  to  win  favor  in  ladies' 
eyes.  According  to  his  own  account,  the  female  socie- 
ty by  which  he  was  surrounded  had  a  soothing  effect 
on  that  melancholy.  The  charms  of  Miss  Carey,  the  sis- 
ter of  the  bride,  seem  even  to  have  caused  a  slight 
fluttering  in  his  bosom ;  which,  however,  was  constant- 
ly rebuked  by  the  remembrance  of  his  former  passion 
— so  at  least  we  judge  from  letters  to  his  youthful  con- 
fidants, rough  drafts  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen  in  his 
tell-tale  journal. 

To  one  whom  he  addresses  as  his  dear  friend  Rob- 
in, he  writes :  "  My  residence  is  at  present  at  his  lord- 
ship's, where  I  might,  was  my  heart  disengaged,  pass 
my  time  very  pleasantly,  as  there's  a  very  agreeable 
young  lady  lives  in  the  same  house  (Col.  George  Fair- 
fax's wife's  sister) ;  but  as  that's  only  adding  fuel  to 
fire,  it  makes  me  the  more  uneasy,  for  by  often  and 
unavoidably  being  in  company  with  her,  revives  my 
former  passion  for  your  Lowland  Beauty;  whereas  was 
I  to  live  more  retired  from  young  women,  I  might  in 
some  measure  alleviate  my  sorrows,  by  burying  that 
chaste  and  troublesome  passion  in  the  grave  of  obli- 
vion," &c. 

Similar  avowals  he  makes  to  another  of  his  young 
correspondents,  whom  he  styles,  "  Dear  friend  John ; " 
as  also  to  a  female  confidant,  styled  "  Dear  Sally,"  to 
whom  he  acknowledges  that  the  company  of  the  "  very 


36  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1748, 

agreeable  young  lady,  sister-in-law  of  Col.  George 
.Fairfax,"  in  a  great  measure  cheers  his  sorrow  and  de- 
jectedness.  The  object  of  this  early  passion  is  not  pos- 
itively known.  Tradition  states  that  the  "lowland 
beauty  "  was  a  Miss  Grimes,  of  Westmoreland,  after- 
wards Mrs.  Lee,  and  mother  of  General  Henry  Lee, 
who  figured  in  revolutionary  history  as  Light  Horse 
Harry,  and  was  always  a  favorite  with  Washington, 
probably  from  the  recollections  of  his  early  tenderness 
for  the  mother. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  soothing  effect  of  the 
female  society  by  which  he  was  surrounded  at  Belvoir, 
the  youth  found  a  more  effectual  remedy  for  his  love 
melancholy  in  the  company  of  Lord  Fairfax.  His  lord- 
ship was  a  stanch  fox-hunter,  and  kept  horses  and 
hounds  in  the  English  style.  The  hunting  season  had 
arrived.  The  neighborhood  abounded  with  sport ;  but 
fox-hunting  in  Virginia  required  bold  and  skilful 
horsemanship.  He  found  Washington  as  bold  as 
himself  in  the  saddle,  and  as  eager  to  follow  the  hounds. 
He  forthwith  took  him  into  peculiar  favor ;  made  him 
his  hunting  companion;  and  it  was  probably  under  the 
tuition  of  this  hard-riding  old  nobleman  that  the  youth 
imbibed  that  fondness  for  the  chase  for  which  he  was 
afterwards  remarked. 

Their  fox-hunting  intercourse  was  attended  with 
more  important  results.  His  lordship's  possessions 
beyond  the  Blue  Ridge  had  never  been  regularly  set- 
tled nor  surveyed.  Lawless  intruders — squatters,  as 
they  were  called — were  planting  themselves  along  the 
finest  streams  and  in  the  richest  valleys,  and  virtually 
taking  possession  of  the  country.     It  was  the  anxious 


1748.J       ENGAGEMENT  AS  SURVEYOR.  37 

desire  of  Lord  Fairfax  to  have  these  lands  examined, 
surveyed,  and  portioned  out  into  lots,  preparatory  to 
ejecting  these  interlopers  or  bringing  them  to  reasona- 
ble terms.  In  Washington,  notwithstanding  his  youth, 
he  beheld  one  fit  for  the  task — having  noticed  the  ex- 
ercises in  surveying  which  he  kept  up  while  at  Mount 
Vernon,  and  the  aptness  and  exactness  with  which 
every  process  was  executed.  He  was  well  calculated, 
too,  by  his  vigor  and  activity,  his  courage  and  hardi- 
hood, to  cope  with  the  wild  country  to  be  surveyed, 
and  with  its  still  wilder  inhabitants.  The  proposition 
had  only  to  be  offered  to  Washington  to  be  eagerly  ac- 
cepted. It  was  the  very  kind  of  occupation  for  which 
he  had  been  diligently  training  himself.  All  the  pre- 
parations required  by  one  of  his  simple  habits  were 
soon  made,  and  in  a  very  few  days  he  was  ready  for 
his  first  expedition  into  the  wilderness. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

EXPEDITION  BEYOND  THE  BLUE  BIDGE — THE  VALLEY   OF    THE    SHENAN- 
DOAH— LOED    HALIFAX — LODGE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS — SURVEYING 

LIFE  IN  THE  BACKWOODS — INDIANS — WAR  DANCE — GERMAN  SET- 
TLERS— RETURN  HOME — WASHINGTON  AS  PUBLIC  SURVEYOR — SOJOURN 
AT  GREENWAY  COURT — HORSES,  HOUNDS,  AND  BOORS — RUGGED 
EXPERIENCE  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  March  (1748),  and  just  after 
he  had  completed  his  sixteenth  year,  that  Washington 
set  out  on  horseback  on  this  surveying  expedition,  in 
company  with  George  William  Fairfax.  Their  route 
lay  by  Ashley's  Gap,  a  pass  through  the  Blue  Ridge, 
that  beautiful  line  of  mountains  which,  as  yet,  almost 
formed  the  western  frontier  of  inhabited  Virginia. 
Winter  still  lingered  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains, 
whence  melting  snows  sent  down  torrents,  which  swell- 
ed the  rivers,  and  occasionally  rendered  them  almost 
impassable.  Spring,  however,  was  softening  the  lower 
parts  of  the  landscape  and  smiling  in  the  valleys. 
They  entered  the  great  valley  of  Virginia,  where  it 
is  about  twenty-five  miles  wide ;  a  lovely  and  temper- 
ate region,  diversified  by  gentle  swells  and  slopes, 
admirably  adapted  to  cultivation.     The  Blue   Ridge 


1748.J  VALLEY    OF    THE    SHENANDOAH.  39 

bounds  it  on  one  side,  the  North  Mountain,  a  ridge  of 
the  Alleganies,  on  the  other ;  while  through  it  flows 
that  bright  and  abounding  river,  which,  on  account  of 
its  surpassing  beauty,  was  named  by  the  Indians  the 
Shenandoah — that  is  to  say,  "  the  daughter  of  the 
stars." 

The  first  station  of  the  travellers  was  at  a  kind  of 
lodge  in  the  wilderness,  where  the  steward  or  land- 
bailiff  of  Lord  Halifax  resided,  with  such  negroes  as 
were  required  for  farming  purposes,  and  which  Wash- 
ington terms  "  his  lordship's  quarters."  It  was  situated 
not  far  from  the  Shenandoah,  and  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Winchester. 

In  a  diary  kept  with  his  usual  minuteness,  Wash- 
ington speaks  with  delight  of  the  beauty  of  the  trees 
and  the  richness  of  the  land  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
of  his  riding  through  a  noble  grove  of  sugar-maples  on 
the  banks  of  the  Shenandoah ;  and  at  the  present  day, 
the  magnificence  of  the  forests  which  still  exist  in  this 
favored  region  justifies  his  eulogium. 

He  looked  around,  however,  with  an  eye  to  the 
profitable  rather  than  the  poetical.  The  gleam  of 
poetry  and  romance,  inspired  by  his  "  lowland  beauty," 
occurs  no  more.  The  real  business  of  life  has  com- 
menced with  him.  His  diary  affords  no  food  for 
fancy.  Every  thing  is  practical.  The  qualities  of  the 
soil,  the  relative  value  of  sites  and  localities,  are  faith- 
fully recorded.  In  these  his  early  habits  of  observa- 
tion and  his  exercises  in  surveying  had  already  made 
him  a  proficient. 

His  surveys  commenced  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
valley,  some  distance  above  the  junction  of  the  Shenan- 


40  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1748. 

doah  with  the  Potomac,  and  extended  for  many  miles 
along  the  former  river.  Here  and  there  partial 
"clearings"  had  been  made  by  squatters  and  hardy 
pioneers,  and  their  rude  husbandry  had  produced 
abundant  crops  of  grain,  hemp,  and  tobacco ;  civiliza- 
tion, however,  had  hardly  yet  entered  the  valley,  if  we 
may  judge  from  the  note  of  a  night's  lodging  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  settlers — Captain  Hite,  near  the 
site  of  the  present  town  of  Winchester.  Here,  after 
supper,  most  of  the  company  stretched  themselves  in 
backwood  style,  before  the  fire ;  but  Washington  was 
shown  into  a  bedroom.  Fatigued  with  a  hard  day's 
work  at  surveying,  he  soon  undressed ;  but  instead  of 
being  nestled  between  sheets  in  a  comfortable  bed,  as 
at  the  maternal  home,  or  at  Mount  Vernon,  he  found 
himself  on  a  couch  of  matted  straw,  under  a  threadbare 
blanket,  swarming  with  unwelcome  bedfellows.  After 
tossing  about  for  a  few  moments,  he  was  glad  to  put 
on  his  clothes  again,  and  rejoin  his  companions  before 
the  fire. 

Such  was  his  first  experience  of  life  in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  he  soon,  however,  accustomed  himself  to  "  rough 
it,"  and  adapt  himself  to  fare  of  all  kinds,  though  he 
generally  preferred  a  bivouac  before  a  fire,  in  the  open 
air,  to  the  accommodations  of  a  woodman's  cabin.  Pro- 
ceeding down  the  valley  to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac, 
they  found  that  river  so  much  swollen  by  the  rain 
which  had  fallen  among  the  Alleganies,  as  to  be  un- 
fordable.  To  while  away  the  time  until  it  should 
subside,  they  made  an  excursion  to  examine  certain 
warm  springs  in  a  valley  among  the  mountains,  since 
called  the  Berkeley  Springs.     There  they  camped  out 


1748.J  LIFE    IN    THE    WILDERNESS.  41 

at  night,  under  the  stars  ;  the  diary  makes  no  complaint 
of  their  accommodations ;  and  their  camping-ground 
is  now  known  as  Bath,  one  of  the  favorite  watering- 
places  of  Virginia.  One  of  the  warm  springs  was 
subsequently  appropriated  by  Lord  Fairfax  to  his  own 
use,  and  still  bears  his  name. 

After  watching  in  vain  for  the  river  to  subside, 
they  procured  a  canoe,  on  which  they  crossed  to  the 
Maryland  side,  swimming  their  horses.  A  weary 
day's  ride  of  forty  miles  up  the  left  side  of  the  river, 
in  a  continual  rain,  and  over  what  Washington  pro- 
nounces the  worst  road  ever  trod  by  man  or  beast, 
brought  them  to  the  house  of  a  Colonel  Cresap,  oppo- 
site the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac,  where  they  put 
up  for  the  night. 

Here  they  were  detained  three  or  four  days  by 
inclement  weather.  On  the  second  day  they  were 
surprised  by  the  appearance  of  a  war  party  of  thirty 
Indians,  bearing  a  scalp  as  a  trophy.  A  little  liquor 
procured  the  spectacle  of  a  war-dance.  A  large  space 
was  cleared  and  a  fire  made  in  the  centre,  round  which 
the  warriors  took  their  seats.  The  principal  orator 
made  a  speech,  reciting  their  recent  exploits,  and  rous- 
ing them  to  triumph.  One  of  the  warriors  started  up 
as  if  from  sleep,  and  began  a  series  of  movements  half- 
grotesque,  half-tragical ;  the  rest  followed.  Tor  music, 
one  savage  drummed  on  a  deerskin,  stretched  over  a 
pot  half  filled  with  water;  another  rattled  a  gourd, 
containing  a  few  shot,  and  decorated  with  a  horse's  tail. 
Their  strange  outcries,  and  uncouth  forms  and  garbs, 
seen  by  the  glare  of  the  fire,  and  their  whoops  and  yells, 
made  them  appear  more  like  demons  than  human  be- 


42  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1^8. 

ings.  All  this  savage  gambol  was  no  novelty  to  Wash- 
ington's companions,  experienced  in  frontier  life;  bnt 
to  the  yonth,  fresh  from  school,  it  was  a  strange  spec- 
tacle, which  he  sat  contemplating  with  deep  interest, 
and  carefully  noted  down  in  his  journal.  It  will  be 
found  that  he  soon  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
savage  character,  and  became  expert  at  dealing  with 
these  inhabitants  of  the  wilderness. 

From  this  encampment  the  party  proceeded  to  the 
mouth  of  Patterson's  Creek,  where  they  recrossed  the 
river  in  a  canoe,  swimming  their  horses  as  before. 
More  than  two  weeks  were  now  passed  by  them  in  the 
wild  mountainous  regions  of  Frederick  County,  and 
about  the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac,  surveying  lands 
and  laying  out  lots,  camped  out  the  greater  part  of 
the  time,  and  subsisting  on  wild  turkeys  and  other 
game.  Each  one  was  his  own  cook;  forked  sticks 
served  for  spits,  and  chips  of  wood  for  dishes.  The 
weather  was  unsettled.  At  one  time  their  tent  was 
blown  down ;  at  another  they  were  driven  out  of  it  by 
smoke ;  now  they  were  drenched  with  rain,  and  now 
the  straw  on  which  Washington  was  sleeping  caught 
fire,  and  he  was  awakened  by  a  companion  just  in  time 
to  escape  a  scorching. 

The  only  variety  to  this  camp  life  was  a  supper  at 
the  house  of  one  Solomon  Hedge,  Esquire,  his  majesty's 
justice  of  the  peace,  where  there  were  no  forks  at  table, 
nor  any  knives,  but  such  as  the  guests  brought  in  their 
pockets.  During  their  surveys  they  were  followed  by 
numbers  of  people,  some  of  them  squatters,  anxious, 
doubtless,  to  procure  a  cheap  title  to  the  land  they 
had  appropriated;    others,  German   emigrants,   with 


1748-50. 1  RETURN    HOME.  43 

their  wives  and  children,  seeking  a  new  home  in  the 
wilderness.  Most  of  the  latter  could  not  speak  Eng- 
lish; but  when  spoken  to  answered  in  their  native 
tongue.  They  appeared  to  Washington  ignorant  as 
Indians,  and  uncouth,  but  "  merry,  and  full  of  antic 
tricks."  Such  were  the  progenitors  of  the  sturdy 
yeomanry  now  inhabiting  those  parts,  many  of  whom 
still  preserve  their  strong  German  characteristics. 

"  I  have  not  slept  above  three  or  four  nights  in  a 
bed,"  writes  Washington  to  one  of  his  young  friends 
at  home,  "  but  after  walking  a  good  deal  all  the  day,  I 
have  lain  down  before  the  fire  upon  a  little  straw  or 
fodder,  or  a  bearskin,  whichever  was  to  be  had,  with 
man,  wife,  and  children,  like  dogs  and  cats ;  and  hap- 
py is  he  who  gets  the  berth  nearest  the  fire." 

Having  completed  his  surveys,  he  set  forth  from 
the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac  on  his  return  home- 
ward ;  crossed  the  mountains  to  the  great  Cacapehon ; 
traversed  the  Shenandoah  valley ;  passed  through  the 
Blue  Ridge,  and  on  the  12th  of  April  found  himself 
once  more  at  Mount  Vernon.  For  his  services  he 
received,  according  to  his  note-book,  a  doubloon  per 
day  when  actively  employed,  and  sometimes  six  pis- 
toles.* 

The  manner  in  which  he  had  acquitted  himself  in 
this  arduous  expedition,  and  his  accounts  of  the 
country  surveyed,  gave  great  satisfaction  to  Lord 
Fairfax,  who  shortly  afterwards  moved  across  the  Blue 
Ridge,  and  took  up  his  residence  at  the  place  hereto- 
fore noted  as  his  "quarters."     Here  he  laid  out  a 

*  A  pistole  is  $3  60.    A  doubloon  is  double  that  sum. 


44  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1748-50. 

manor,  containing  ten  thousand  acres  of  arable  grazing 
land,  vast  meadows,  and  noble  forests,  and  projected  a 
spacious  manor-house,  giving  to  the  place  the  name  of 
Greenway  Court. 

It  was  probably  tlirough  the  influence  of  Lord 
Fairfax  that  Washington  received  the  appointment  of 
public  surveyor.  This  conferred  authority  on  his  sur- 
veys, and  entitled  them  to  be  recorded  in  the  county 
offices;  and  so  invariably  correct  have  these  surveys 
been  found,  that,  to  this  day,  wherever  any  of  them 
stand  on  record,  they  receive  implicit  credit. 

For  three  years  he  continued  in  this  occupation, 
which  proved  extremely  profitable,  from  the  vast  extent 
of  country  to  be  surveyed  and  the  very  limited  number 
of  public  surveyors.  It  made  him  acquainted,  also, 
with  the  country,  the  nature  of  the  soil  in  various  parts, 
and  the  value  of  localities ;  all  which  proved  advan- 
tageous to  him  in  his  purchases  in  after  years.  Many 
of  the  finest  parts  of  the  Shenandoah  valley  are  yet 
owned  by  members  of  the  Washington  family. 

While  thus  employed  for  months  at  a  time  survey- 
ing the  lands  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  he  was  often  an 
inmate  of  Greenway  Court.  The  projected  manor- 
house  was  never  even  commenced.  On  a  green  knoll 
overshadowed  by  trees  was  a  long  stone  building,  one 
story  in  height,  with  dormer  windows,  two  wooden 
belfries,  chimneys  studded  with  swallow  and  martin 
coops,  and  a  roof  sloping  down  in  the  old  Virginia 
fashion,  into  low  projecting  eaves  that  formed  a  veran- 
dah the  whole  length  of  the  house.  It  was  probably 
the  house  originally  occupied  by  his  steward  or  land 
agent,  but  was  now  devoted  to  hospitable  purposes, 


1748-50.]  GREEN  WAY    COURT.  45 

and  the  reception  of  guests.  As  to  his  lordship,  it  was 
one  of  his  many  eccentricities,  that  he  never  slept  in 
the  main  edifice,  but  lodged  apart  in  a  wooden  house 
not  much  above  twelve  feet  square.  In  a  small  build- 
ing was  his  office,  where  quitrents  were  given,  deeds 
drawn,  and  business  transacted  with  his  tenants. 

About  the  knoll  were  out-houses  for  his  numerous 
servants,  black  and  white,  with  stables  for  saddle- 
horses  and  hunters,  and  kennels  for  his  hounds,  for  his 
lordship  retained  his  keen  hunting  propensities,  and  the 
neighborhood  abounded  in  game.  Indians,  half-breeds, 
and  leathern-clad  woodsmen  loitered  about  the  place, 
and  partook  of  the  abundance  of  the  kitchen.  His 
lordship's  table  was  plentiful  but  plain,  and  served  in 
the  English  fashion. 

Here  Washington  had  full  opportunity,  in  the 
proper  seasons,  of  indulging  his  fondness  for  field 
sports,  and  once  more  accompanying  his  lordship  in 
the  chase.  The  conversation  of  Lord  Fairfax,  too,  was 
full  of  interest  and  instruction  to  an  inexperienced 
youth,  from  his  cultivated  talents,  his  literary  taste,  and 
his  past  intercourse  with  the  best  society  of  Europe, 
and  its  most  distinguished  authors.  He  had  brought 
books,  too,  with  him  into  the  wilderness,  and  from 
Washington's  diary  we  find,  that  during  his  sojourn 
here  he  was  diligently  reading  the  history  of  England, 
and  the  essays  of  the  Spectator. 

Such  was  Greenway  Court  in  these  its  palmy  days. 
We  visited  it  recently,  and  found  it  tottering  to  its 
fall,  mouldering  in  the  midst  of  a  magnificent  country, 
where  nature  still  flourishes  in  full  luxuriance  and 
beauty. 


46  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1748-50. 

Three  or  four  years  were  thus  passed  by  Washing- 
ton, the  greater  part  of  the  time  beyond  the  Blue 
Ridge,  but  occasionally  with  his  brother  Lawrence  at 
Mount  Vernon.  His  rugged  and  toilsome  expeditions 
in  the  mountains,  among  rude  scenes  and  rough  people, 
inured  him  to  hardships,  and  made  him  apt  at  expedi- 
ents ;  while  his  intercourse  with  his  cultivated  brother, 
and  with  the  various  members  of  the  Fairfax  family, 
had  a  happy  effect  in  toning  up  his  mind  and  manners, 
and  counteracting  the  careless  and  self-indulgent  habi- 
tudes of  the  wilderness. 


CHAPTER    V. 

ENGLISH  AND  FEENCH  CLAIMS  TO  THE  OniO  VALLEY — WILD  STATE  OF 
THE  COUNTRY — PROJECTS  OF  SETTLEMENTS — THE  OHIO  COMPANY — 
ENLIGHTENED  VIEWS  OF  LAWRENCE  WASHINGTON — FRENCH  RIVALRY 
CELERON  DE  BIENVILLE — HIS  SIGNS  OF  OCCUPATION — HUGH  CRAW- 
FORD— GEORGE  CROGHAN,  A  VETERAN  TRADER,  AND  MONTOUR,  HIS 
INTERPRETER — THEIR  MISSION  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA  TO  THE  OHIO 
TRIBES — CHRISTOPHER  GIST,  THE  PIONEER  OF  THE  YADKIN — AGENT  OF 
THE  OHIO  COMPANY — HIS  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  FRONTIER — REPROBATE 

TRADERS   AT  LOGSTOWN — NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  THE   INDIANS SCENES 

IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY — DIPLOMACY  AT  PIQUA — KEGS  OF  BRANDY 
AND  BOLLS  OF  TOBACCO— GIST'S  RETURN  ACROSS  KENTUCKY — A  DE- 
SERTED HOME — FRENCH  SCHEMES — CAPTAIN  JONOAERE,  A  DIPLOMAT 
OF  THE  WILDERNESS — HIS  SPEECH  AT  LOGSTOWN — THE  INDIANS' 
LAND — "  WHERE  ?  " 

During  the  time  of  Washington's  surveying  campaigns 
among  the  mountains,  a  grand  colonizing  scheme  had 
been  set  on  foot,  destined  to  enlist  him  in  hardy 
enterprises,  and  in  some  degree  to  shape  the  course  of 
his  future  fortunes. 

The  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
which  had  put  an  end  to  the  general  war  of  Europe, 
had  left  undefined  the  boundaries  between  the  British 
and  Trench  possessions  in  America ;  a  singular  remiss- 
ness, considering  that  they  had  long  been  a  subject  in 


48  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON. 

dispute,  and  a  cause  of  frequent  conflicts  in  the 
colonies.  Immense  regions  were  still  claimed  by  both 
nations,  and  each  was  now  eager  to  forestall  the  other 
by  getting  possession  of  them,  and  strengthening  its 
claim  by  occupancy. 

The  most  desirable  of  these  regions  lay  west  of 
the  Allegany  Mountains,  extending  from  the  lakes  to 
the  Ohio,  and  embracing  the  valley  of  that  river  and  its 
tributary  streams.  An  immense  territory,  possessing 
a  salubrious  climate,  fertile  soil,  fine  hunting  and 
fishing  grounds,  and  facilities  by  lakes  and  rivers  for  a 
vast  internal  commerce. 

The  French  claimed  all  this  country  quite  to  the 
Allegany  Mountains,  by  the  right  of  discovery.  In 
1673,  Padre  Marquette,  with  his  companion,  Joliet,  of 
Quebec,  both  subjects  of  the  crown  of  France,  had 
passed  down  the  Mississippi  in  a  canoe  quite  to  the 
Arkansas,  thereby,  according  to  an  alleged  maxim  in 
the  law  of  nations,  establishing  the  right  of  their 
sovereign,  not  merely  to  the  river  so  discovered  and 
its  adjacent  lands,  but  to  all  the  country  drained  by 
its  tributary  streams,  of  which  the  Ohio  was  one ;  a 
claim,  the  ramifications  of  which  might  be  spread,  like 
the  meshes  of  a  web,  over  half  the  continent. 

To  this  illimitable  claim  the  English  opposed  a 
right  derived,  at  second  hand,  from  a  traditionary 
Indian  conquest.  A  treaty  they  said,  had  been  made 
at  Lancaster,  in  1744,  between  commissioners  from 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  and  the  Iroquois, 
or  Six  Nations,  whereby  the  latter,  for  four  hundred 
pounds,  gave  up  all  right  and  title  to  the  land  west  of 
the   Allegany    Mountains,   even    to    the  Mississippi, 


INDIAN    TRADERS.  49 

which  land,  according  to   their  traditions,  had  been 
conquered  by  their  forefathers. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  such  a  treaty  was  made, 
and  such  a  pretended  transfer  of  title  did  take  place, 
under  the  influence  of  spirituous  liquors ;  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  the  Indians  in  question  did  not,  at 
the  time,  possess  an  acre  of  the  land  conveyed;  and  that 
the  tribes  actually  in  possession  scoffed  at  their  preten- 
sions, and  claimed  the  country  as  their  own  from  time 
immemorial. 

Such  were  the  shadowy  foundations  of  claims 
which  the  two  nations  were  determined  to  maintain 
to  the  uttermost,  and  which  ripened  into  a  series  of 
wars,  ending  in  a  loss  to  England  of  a  great  part  of 
her  American  possessions,  and  to  Prance  of  the  whole. 

As  yet  in  the  region  in  question  there  was  not  a 
single  wThite  settlement.  Mixed  Iroquois  tribes  of 
Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  Mingoes,  had  migrated  into 
it  early  in  the  century  from  the  French  settlements  in 
Canada,  and  taken  up  their  abodes  about  the  Ohio 
and  its  branches.  The  French  pretended  to  hold  them 
under  their  protection;  but  their  allegiance,  if  ever 
acknowledged,  had  been  sapped  of  late  years  by  the 
influx  of  fur  traders  from  Pennsylvania.  These  were 
often  rough,  lawless  men;  half  Indians  in  dress  and 
habits,  prone  to  brawls,  and  sometimes  deadly  in  their 
feuds.  They  were  generally  in  the  employ  of  some 
trader,  who,  at  the  head  of  his  retainers  and  a  string 
of  packhorses,  would  make  his  way  over  mountains 
and  through  forests  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  establish 
his  head-quarters  in  some  Indian  town,  and  disperse 
his   followers  to  traffic  among  the  hamlets,  hunting- 

VOL.   I. — 4 


50  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

camps  and  wigwams,  exchanging  blankets,  gaudy  col- 
ored cloth,  trinketry,  powder,  shot,  and  mm,  for  val- 
uable furs  and  peltry.  In  this  way  a  lucrative  trade 
with  these  western  tribes  was  springing  up  and  be- 
coming monopolized  by  the  Pennsylvanians. 

To  secure  a  participation  in  this  trade,  and  to  gain 
a  foothold  in  this  desirable  region,  became  now  the 
wish  of  some  of  the  most  intelligent  and  enterprising 
men  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  among  whom  were 
Lawrence  and  Augustine  Washington.  With  these 
views  they  projected  a  scheme  in  connection  with 
John  Hanbury,  a  wealthy  London  merchant,  to  obtain 
a  grant  of  land  from  the  British  government,  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  settlements  or  colonies  beyond  the 
Alleganies.  Government  readily  countenanced  a 
scheme  by  which  Trench  encroachments  might  be  fore- 
stalled, and  prompt  and  quiet  possession  secured  of  the 
great  Ohio  valley.  An  association  was  accordingly 
chartered  in  1749,  by  the  name  of  "  the  Ohio  Compa- 
ny," and  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  were 
granted  to  it  west  of  the  Alleganies;  between  the 
Monongahela  and  Kanawha  rivers ;  though  part  of  the 
land  might  be  taken  up  north  of  the  Ohio,  should  it 
be  deemed  expedient.  The  company  were  to  pay  no 
quitrent  for  ten  years;  but  they  were  to  select  two 
fifths  of  their  lands  immediately ;  to  settle  one  hundred 
families  upon  them  within  seven  years ;  to  build  a  fort 
at  their  own  expense,  and  maintain  a  sufficient  garri- 
son in  it  for  defence  against  the  Indians. 

Mr.  Thomas  Lee,  president  of  the  council  of  Vir- 
ginia, took  the  lead  in  the  concerns  of  the  company 
at  the  outset,  and  by  many  has  been  considered  its 


LIBERTY    OF    CONSCIENCE.  51 

founder.  On  his  death,  which  soon  took  place,  Law- 
rence Washington  had  the  chief  management.  His 
enlightened  mind  and  liberal  spirit  shone  forth  in  his 
earliest  arrangements.  He  wished  to  form  the  settle- 
ments with  Germans  from  Pennsylvania.  Being  dis- 
senters, however,  they  would  be  obliged,  on  becoming 
residents  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Virginia,  to  pay 
parish  rates,  and  maintain  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England,  though  they  might  not  understand  his 
language  nor  relish  his  doctrines.  Lawrence  sought 
to  have  them  exempted  from  this  double  tax  on  purse 
and  conscience. 

"  It  has  ever  been  my  opinion,"  said  he,  "  and  I 
hope  it  ever  will  be,  that  restraints  on  conscience  are 
cruel  in  regard  to  those  on  whom  they  are  imposed, 
and  injurious  to  the  country  imposing  them.  England, 
Holland,  and  Prussia,  I  may  quote  as  examples,  and 
much  more  Pennsylvania,  which  has  flourished  under 
that  delightful  liberty,  so  as  to  become  the  admiration 
of  every  man  who  considers  the  short  time  it  has  been 
settled.  *  *  *  This  colony  (Virginia)  was 
greatly  settled  in  the  latter  part  of  Charles  the  First's 
time,  and  during  the  usurpation,by  the  zealous  church- 
men ;  and  that  spirit,  which  was  then  brought  in,  has 
ever  since  continued ;  so  that,  except  a  few  Quakers, 
we  have  no  dissenters.  But  what  has  been  the  conse- 
quence ?  We  have  increased  by  slow  degrees,  whilst 
our  neighboring  colonies,  whose  natural  advantages 
are  greatly  inferior  to  ours,  have  become  populous." 

Such  were  the  enlightened  views  of  this  brother  of 
our  Washington,  to  whom  the  latter  owed  much  of  his 
moral  and  mental  training.     The  company  proceeded 


52  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

to  make  preparations  for  their  colonizing  scheme. 
Goods  were  imported  from  England  suited  to  the 
Indian  trade,  or  for  presents  to  the  chiefs.  Rewards 
were  promised  to  veteran  warriors  and  hunters  among 
the  natives  acquainted  with  the  woods  and  mountains, 
for  the  best  route  to  the  Ohio.  Before  the  company 
had  received  its  charter,  however,  the  French  were  in 
the  field.  Early  in  1749,  the  Marquis  de  la  Galison- 
niere,  Governor  of  Canada,  despatched  Celeron  de 
Bienville,  an  intelligent  officer,  at  the  head  of  three 
hundred  men,  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  to  make  peace, 
as  he  said,  between  the  tribes  that  had  become  em- 
broiled with  each  other  during  the  late  war,  and  to 
renew  the  French  possession  of  the  country.  Celeron 
de  Bienville  distributed  presents  among  the  Indians, 
made  speeches  reminding  them  of  former  friendship, 
and  warned  them  not  to  trade  with  the  English. 

He  furthermore  nailed  leaden  plates  to  trees,  and 
buried  others  in  the  earth,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Ohio  and  its  tributaries,  bearing  inscriptions  purporting 
that  all  the  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  rivers  to  their 
sources  appertained,  as  in  foregone  times,  to  the  crown 
of  France.*  The  Indians  gazed  at  these  mysterious 
plates  with  wondering  eyes,  but  surmised  their  pur- 
port. "They  mean  to  steal  our  country  from  us," 
murmured  they ;  and  they  determined  to  seek  protec- 
tion from  the  English. 

Celeron,  finding  some  traders  from  Pennsylvania 
trafficking  among  the  Indians,  summoned  them  to 
depart,  and  wrote  by  them  to  James  Hamilton,  Gov- 

*  One  of  these  plates,  bearing  date  August  16,  1740,  was  found  in  re- 
cent years  at  the  confluence  of  the  Muskingum  with  the  Ohio. 


GEORGE    CROGHAN CHRISTOPHER    GIST.  53 

ernor  of  Pennsylvania,  telling  him  the  object  of  his 
errand  to  those  parts,  and  his  surprise  at  meeting  with 
English  traders  in  a  country  to  which  England  had  no 
pretensions ;  intimating  that,  in  future,  any  intruders 
of  the  kind  would  be  rigorously  dealt  with. 

His  letter,  and  a  report  of  his  proceedings  on  the 
Ohio,  roused  the  solicitude  of  the  governor  and  council 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  protection  of  their  Indian 
trade.  Shortly  afterwards,  one  Hugh  Crawford,  who 
had  been  trading  with  the  Miami  tribes  on  the  Wa- 
bash, brought  a  message  from  them,  speaking  of  the 
promises  and  threats  with  which  the  Erench  were 
endeavoring  to  shake  their  faith,  but  assuring  the  gov- 
ernor that  their  friendship  for  the  English  "  would  last 
while  the  sun  and  moon  ran  round  the  world."  This 
message  was  accompanied  by  three  strings  of  wam- 
pum. 

Governor  Hamilton  knew  the  value  of  Indian 
friendship,  and  suggested  to  the  Assembly  that  it  would 
be  better  to  clinch  it  with  presents,  and  that  as  soon 
as  possible.  An  envoy  accordingly  was  sent  off  early 
in  October,  who  was  supposed  to  have  great  influence 
among  the  western  tribes.  This  was  one  George 
Croghan,  a  veteran  trader,  shrewd  and  sagacious,  who 
had  been  frequently  to  the  Ohio  country  with  pack- 
horses  and  followers,  and  made  himself  popular  among 
the  Indians  by  dispensing  presents  with  a  lavish  hand. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Andrew  Montour,  a  Canadian 
of  half  Indian  descent,  who  was  to  act  as  interpreter. 
They  were  provided  with  a  small  present  for  the  emer- 
gency ;  but  were  to  convoke  a  meeting  of  all  the  tribes 
at  Logstown,  on  the  Ohio,  early  in  the  ensuing  spring, 


54  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON. 

to  receive  an  ample  present  which  would  be  provided 
by  the  Assembly. 

It  was  some  time  later  in  the  same  autumn  that  the 
Ohio  company  brought  their  plans  into  operation,  and 
despatched  an  agent  to  explore  the  lands  upon  the 
Ohio  and  its  branches  as  low  as  the  Great  Palls,  take 
note  of  their  fitness  for  cultivation,  of  the  passes 
of  the  mountains,  the  courses  and  bearings  of  the 
rivers,  and  the  strength  and  disposition  of  the  native 
tribes.  The  man  chosen  for  the  purpose  was  Chris- 
topher Gist,  a  hardy  pioneer,  experienced  in  woodcraft 
and  Indian  life,  who  had  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the 
Yadkin,  near  the  boundary  line  of  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina.  He  was  allowed  a  woodsman  or  two  for  the 
service  of  the  expedition.  He  set  out  on  the  31st  of 
October,  from  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  by  an  Indian 
path  which  the  hunters  had  pointed  out,  leading  from 
Wills'  Creek,  since  called  Cumberland  River,  to  the 
Ohio.  Indian  paths  and  buffalo  tracks  are  the  primi- 
tive highways  of  the  wilderness.  Passing  the  Juniata, 
he  crossed  the  ridges  of  the  Allegany,  arrived  at  Shan- 
nopin,  a  Delaware  village  on  the  south-east  side  of  the 
Ohio,  or  rather  of  that  upper  branch  of  it  now  called 
the  Allegany,  swam  his  horses  across  that  river,  and 
descending  along  its  valley  arrived  at  Logstown,  an 
important  Indian  village  a  little  below  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Pittsburg.  Here  usually  resided  Tan- 
acharisson,  a  Seneca  chief  of  great  note,  being  head 
sachem  of  the  mixed  tribes  who  had  migrated  to  the 
Ohio  and  its  branches.  He  was  generally  surnamed 
the  half-king,  being  subordinate  to  the  Iroquois  confed- 
eracy.    The  chief  was  absent  at  this  time,  as  were  most 


GIST   AT   MUSKINGUM.  55 

of  his  people,  it  being  the  hunting  season.  George 
Croghan,  the  envoy  from  Pennsylvania,  with  Montour 
his  interpreter,  had  passed  through  Logstown  a  week 
previously,  on  his  way  to  the  Twightwees  and  other 
tribes,  on  the  Miami  branch  of  the  Ohio.  Scarce  any 
one  was  to  be  seen  about  the  village  but  some  of 
Croghan's  rough  people,  whom  he  had  left  behind — 
"reprobate  Indian  traders,"  as  Gist  terms  them.  They 
regarded  the  latter  with  a  jealous  eye,  suspecting  him 
of  some  rivalship  in  trade,  or  designs  on  the  Indian 
lands;  and  intimated  significantly  that  "he  would 
never  go  home  safe." 

Gist  knew  the  meaning  of  such  hints  from  men  of 
this  stamp  in  the  lawless  depths  of  the  wilderness ;  but 
quieted  their  suspicions  by  letting  them  know  that  he 
was  on  public  business,  and  on  good  terms  with  their 
great  man,  George  Croghan,  to  whom  he  despatched 
a  letter.  He  took  his  departure  from  Logstown, 
however,  as  soon  as  possible,  preferring,  as  he  said,  the 
solitude  of  the  wilderness  to  such  company. 

At  Beaver  Creek,  a  few  miles  below  the  village, 
he  left  the  river  and  struck  into  the  interior  of  the 
present  State  of  Ohio.  Here  he  overtook  George 
Croghan  at  Muskingum,  a  town  of  Wyandots  and 
Mingoes.  He  had  ordered  all  the  traders  in  his  em- 
ploy who  were  scattered  among  the  Indian  villages,  to 
rally  at  this  town,  where  he  had  hoisted  the  English 
flag  over  his  residence,  and  over  that  of  the  sachem. 
This  was  in  consequence  of  the  hostility  of  the  French, 
who  had  recently  captured,  in  the  neighborhood,  three 
white  men  in  the  employ  of  Prazier,  an  Indian  trader, 
and  had  carried  them  away  prisoners  to  Canada. 


56  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON. 

Gist  was  well  received  by  the  people  of  Muskin- 
gum. They  were  indignant  at  the  Trench  violation 
of  their  territories,  and  the  capture  of  their  "  English 
brothers."  They  had  not  forgotten  the  conduct  of 
Celeron  de  Bienville  in  the  previous  year,  and  the  mys- 
terious plates  which  he  had  nailed  against  trees  and 
sunk  in  the  ground.  "  If  the  Trench  claim  the  rivers 
which  run  into  the  lakes,"  said  they,  "  those  which  run 
into  the  Ohio  belong  to  us  and  to  our  brothers  the 
English."  And  they  were  anxious  that  Gist  should 
settle  among  them,  and  build  a  fort  for  their  mutual 
defence. 

A  council  of  the  nation  was  now  held,  in  which 
Gist  invited  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Governor  of 
Virginia,  to  visit  that  province,  where  a  large  present 
of  goods  awaited  them,  sent  by  their  father,  the  great 
king,  over  the  water  to  his  Ohio  children.  The  invi- 
tation was  graciously  received,  but  no  answer  could  be 
given  until  a  grand  council  of  the  western  tribes  had 
been  held,  which  was  to  take  place  at  Logstown  in  the 
ensuing  spring. 

Similar  results  attended  visits  made  by  Gist  and 
Croghan  to  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawnees  at  their 
villages  about  the  Scioto  River ;  all  promised  to  be  at 
the  gathering  at  Logstown.  Erom  the  Shawnee  vil- 
lage, near  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  the  two  emissaries 
shaped  their  course  north  two  hundred  miles,  crossed 
the  Great  Moneami,  or  Miami  River,  on  a  raft,  swim- 
ming their  horses ;  and  on  the  17th  of  Eebruary  arri- 
ved at  the  Indian  town  of  Piqua. 

These  journeyings  had  carried  Gist  about  a  wide 
extent  of  country  beyond  the  Ohio.     It  was  rich  and 


DIPLOMACY   AT   PIQUA.  57 

level,  watered  with  streams  and  rivulets,  and  clad  with 
noble  forests  of  hickory,  walnut,  ash,  poplar,  sugar- 
maple,  and  wild  cherry-trees.  Occasionally  there  were 
spacious  plains  covered  with  wild  rye;  natural  mea- 
dows, with  blue  grass  and  clover ;  and  buffaloes,  thirty 
and  forty  at  a  time,  grazing  on  them  as  in  a  cultivat- 
ed pasture.  Deer,  elk,  and  wild  turkeys  abounded. 
"  Nothing  is  wanted  but  cultivation,"  said  Gist,  "  to 
make  this  a  most  delightful  country. "  Cultivation  has 
since  proved  the  truth  of  his  words.  The  country 
thus  described  is  the  present  State  of  Ohio. 

Piqua,  where  Gist  and  Croghan  had  arrived,  was 
the  principal  town  of  the  Twightwees  or  Miamis ;  the 
most  powerful  confederacy  of  the  West,  combining 
four  tribes,  and  extending  its  influence  even  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  A  king  or  sachem  of  one  or  other  of 
the  different  tribes  presided  over  the  whole.  The  head 
chief  at  present  was  the  king  of  the  Piankeshas. 

At  this  town  Croghan  formed  a  treaty  of  alliance 
in  the  name  of  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  with  two 
of  the  Miami  tribes.  And  Gist  was  promised  by  the 
king  of  the  Piankeshas,  that  the  chiefs  of  the  various 
tribes  would  attend  the  meeting  at  Logstown  to  make 
a  treaty  with  Virginia. 

In  the  height  of  these  demonstrations  of  friendship, 
two  Ottawas  entered  the  council-house,  announcing 
themselves  as  envoys  from  the  Prench  Governor  of 
Canada  to  seek  a  renewal  of  ancient  alliance.  They 
were  received  with  all  due  ceremonial ;  for  none  are 
more  ceremonious  than  the  Indians.  The  Prench 
colors  were  set  up  beside  the  English,  and  the  ambas- 
sadors opened  their  mission.     "  Your  father,  the  Prench 


58  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

king,"  said  they,  "remembering  his  children  on  the 
Ohio,  has  sent  them  these  two  kegs  of  milk ; " — here, 
with  great  solemnity,  they  deposited  two  kegs  of 
brandy, — "  and  this  tobacco  " — here  they  deposited  a 
roll  ten  pounds  in  weight.  "  He  has  made  a  clean  road 
for  you  to  come  and  see  him  and  his  officers;  and 
urges  you  to  come,  assuring  you  that  all  past  differ- 
ences will  be  forgotten." 

The  Piankesha  chief  replied  in  the  same  figura- 
tive style.  "It  is  true  our  father  has  sent  for  us 
several  times,  and  has  said  the  road  was  clear;  but  I 
understand  it  is  not  clear — it  is  foul  and  bloody, 
and  the  French  have  made  it  so.  We  have  cleared  a 
road  for  our  brothers,  the  English;  the  French  have 
made  it  bad,  and  have  taken  some  of  our  brothers 
prisoners.  This  we  consider  as  done  to  ourselves." 
So  saying,  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  ambassadors, 
and  stalked  out  of  the  council-house. 

In  the  end  the  ambassadors  were  assured  that  the 
tribes  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Six  Nations  were  hand  in 
hand  with  their  brothers,  the  English ;  and  should  war 
ensue  with  the  Erench,  they  were  ready  to  meet  it. 

So  the  Erench  colors  were  taken  down ;  the  "  kegs 
of  milk  "  and  roll  of  tobacco  were  rejected ;  the  grand 
council  broke  up  with  a  war-dance,  and  the  ambassa- 
dors departed,  weeping  and  howling,  and  predicting 
ruin  to  the  Miamis. 

When  Gist  returned  to  the  Shawnee  town,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Scioto,  and  reported  to  his  Indian  friends 
there  the  alliance  he  had  formed  with  the  Miami  con- 
federacy, there  was  great  feasting  and  speech-making, 
and  firing  of  guns.     He  had  now  happily  accomplish- 


GIST  S  RETURN  ACROSS  KENTUCKY.       59 

ed  the  chief  object  of  his  mission — nothing  remained 
but  to  descend  the  Ohio  to  the  Great  Tails.  This, 
however,  he  was  cautioned  not  to  do.  A  large  party 
of  Indians,  allies  of  the  French,  were  hunting  in  that 
neighborhood,  who  might  kill  or  capture  him.  He 
crossed  the  river,  attended  only  by  a  lad  as  a  travelling 
companion  and  aid,  and  proceeded  cautiously  down 
the  east  side  until  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  Palls. 
Here  he  came  upon  traps  newly  set,  and  Indian  foot- 
prints not  a  day  old ;  and  heard  the  distant  report  of 
guns.  The  story  of  Indian  hunters  then  was  true. 
He  was  in  a  dangerous  neighborhood.  The  savages 
might  come  upon  the  tracks  of  his  horses,  or  hear  the 
bells  put  about  their  necks  when  turned  loose  in  the 
wilderness  to  graze. 

Abandoning  all  idea,  therefore,  of  visiting  the  Falls, 
and  contenting  himself  with  the  information  concerning 
them  which  he  had  received  from  others,  he  shaped  his 
course  on  the  18th  of  March  for  the  Cuttawa,  or  Ken- 
tucky River.  From  the  top  of  a  mountain  in  the 
vicinity  he  had  a  view  to  the  south-west  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach,  over  a  vast  woodland  country  in  the 
fresh  garniture  of  spring,  and  watered  by  abundant 
streams ;  but  as  yet  only  the  hunting-ground  of  savage 
tribes,  and  the  scene  of  their  sanguinary  combats.  In 
a  word,  Kentucky  lay  spread  out  before  him  in  all  its 
wild  magnificence ;  long  before  it  was  beheld  by  Daniel 
Boone. 

For  six  weeks  was  this  hardy  pioneer  making  his 
toilful  way  up  the  valley  of  the  Cuttawa,  or  Kentucky 
River,  to  the  banks  of  the  Blue  Stone  ;  often  checked 
by  precipices,  and  obliged  to  seek  fords  at  the  heads 


60  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON. 

of  tributary  streams  ;  and  happy  when  he  could  find  a 
buffalo  path  broken  through  the  tangled  forests,  or 
worn  into  the  everlasting  rocks. 

On  the  1st  of  May  he  climbed  a  rock  sixty  feet 
high,  crowning  a  lofty  mountain,  and  had  a  distant 
view  of  the  great  Kanawha,  breaking  its  way  through 
a  vast  sierra  ;  crossing  that  river  on  a  raft  of  his  own 
construction,  he  had  many  more  weary  days  before 
him,  before  he  reached  his  frontier  abode  on  the  banks 
of  the  Yadkin.  He  arrived  there  in  the  latter  part  of 
May,  but  there  was  no  one  to  welcome  the  wanderer 
home.  There  had  been  an  Indian  massacre  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  he  found  his  house  silent  and 
deserted.  His  heart  sank  within  him,  until  an  old 
man  whom  he  met  near  the  place  assured  him  his 
family  were  safe,  having  fled  for  refuge  to  a  settlement 
thirty-five  miles  off,  on  the  banks  of  the  Roanoke. 
There  he  rejoined  them  on  the  following  day. 

While  Gist  had  been  making  his  painful  way  home- 
ward, the  two  Ottawa  ambassadors  had  returned  to 
Fort  Sandusky,  bringing  word  to  the  French  that 
their  flag  had  been  struck  in  the  council-house  at 
Piqua,  and  their  friendship  rejected  and  their  hostility 
defied  by  the  Miamis.  They  informed  them  also  of 
the  gathering  of  the  western  tribes  that  was  to  take 
place  at  Logstown,  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  Virgin- 
ians. 

It  was  a  great  object  with  the  French  to  prevent  this 
treaty,  and  to  spirit  up  the  Ohio  Indians  against  the 
English.  This  they  hoped  to  effect  through  the  agency 
of  one  Captain  Joncaire,  a  veteran  diplomatist  of  the 


CAPTAIN   JONCAIRE.  61 

wilderness,  whose  character  and  story  deserve  a  passing 
notice. 

He  had  been  taken  prisoner  when  quite  young  by 
the  Iroquois,  and  adopted  into  one  of  their  tribes. 
This  was  the  making  of  his  fortune.  He  had  grown 
up  among  them,  acquired  their  language,  adapted  him- 
self to  their  habits,  and  was  considered  by  them  as  one 
of  themselves.  On  returning  to  civilized  life,  he  be- 
came a  prime  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Canadian 
government,  for  managing  and  cajoling  the  Indians. 
Sometimes  he  was  an  ambassador  to  the  Iroquois ; 
sometimes  a  mediator  between  the  jarring  tribes; 
sometimes  a  leader  of  their  warriors  when  employed  by 
the  French.  When  in  1728  the  Delawares  and  Shaw- 
nees  migrated  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  Joncaire  was 
the  agent  who  followed  them,  and  prevailed  on  them 
to  consider  themselves  under  French  protection. 
When  the  French  wanted  to  get  a  commanding  site 
for  a  post  on  the  Iroquois  lands,  near  Niagara,  Joncaire 
was  the  man  to  manage  it.  He  craved  a  situation 
where  he  might  put  up  a  wigwam,  and  dwell  among 
his  Iroquois  brethren.  It  was  granted  of  course,  "  for 
was  he  not  a  son  of  the  tribe — was  he  not  one  of 
themselves  ?  "  By  degrees  his  wigwam  grew  into  an 
important  trading  post;  ultimately  it  became  Fort 
Niagara.  Years  and  years  had  elapsed ;  he  had  grown 
gray  in  Indian  diplomacy,  and  was  now  sent  once  more 
to  maintain  French  sovereignty  over  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio. 

He  appeared  at  Logstown  accompanied  by  another 
Frenchman,  and  forty  Iroquois  warriors.  He  found  an 
assemblage  of  the  western  tribes,  feasting  and  rejoicing, 


62  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  firing  of  guns,  for  George  Croghan  and  Montour 
the  interpreter  were  there,  and  had  been  distributing 
presents  on  behalf  of  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

Joncaire  was  said  to  have  the  wit  of  a  Frenchman, 
and  the  eloquence  of  an  Iroquois.  He  made  an  ani- 
mated speech  to  the  chiefs  in  their  own  tongue,  the 
gist  of  which  was  that  their  father  Onontio  (that  is  to 
say,  the  Governor  of  Canada)  desired  his  children  of 
the  Ohio  to  turn  away  the  Indian  traders,  and  never  to 
deal  with  them  again  on  pain  of  his  displeasure ;  so 
saying,  he  laid  down  a  wampum  belt  of  uncommon 
size,  by  way  of  emphasis  to  his  message. 

For  once  his  eloquence  was  of  no  avail ;  a  chief  rose 
indignantly,  shook  his  finger  in  his  face,  and  stamping 
on  the  ground,  "  this  is  our  land,"  said  he.  "  What 
right  has  Onontio  here  ?  The  English  are  our  broth- 
ers. They  shall  live  among  us  as  long  as  one  of  us  is 
alive.  We  will  trade  with  them,  and  not  with  you ; " 
and  so  saying  he  rejected  the  belt  of  wampum. 

Joncaire  returned  to  an  advanced  post  recently 
established  on  the  upper  part  of  the  river,  whence  he 
wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania :  "  The  Marquis 
de  la  Jonquiere,  Governor  of  New  Prance,  having  or- 
dered me  to  watch  that  the  English  make  no  treaty  in 
the  Ohio  country,  I  have  signified  to  the  traders  of 
your  government  to  retire.  You  are  not  ignorant  that 
all  these  lands  belong  to  the  king  of  Prance,  and  that 
the  English  have  no  right  to  trade  in  them."  He 
concluded  by  reiterating  the  threat  made  two  years 
previously  by  Celeron  de  Bienville  against  all  intruding 
fur  traders. 

In  the  mean  time,  in  the  face  of  all  these  protests 


THE    INDIANS     LAND.  63 

and  menaces,  Mr.  Gist,  under  sanction  of  the  Virginia 
Legislature,  proceeded  in  the  same  year  to  survey  the 
lands  within  the  grant  of  the  Ohio  company,  lying  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Ohio  river,  as  far  down  as  the 
great  Kanawha.  An  old  Delaware  sachem,  meeting 
him  while  thus  employed,  propounded  a  somewhat 
puzzling  question.  "  The  French,"  said  he,  "  claim  all 
the  land  on  one  side  of  the  Ohio,  the  English  claim  all 
the  land  on  the  other  side — now  where  does  the  In- 
dians' land  he  ?  " 

Poor  savages !  Between  their  "fathers,"  the  French, 
and  their  "  brothers,"  the  English,  they  were  in  a  fair 
way  of  being  most  lovingly  shared  out  of  the  whole 
country. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

PBEPARATIONS  TOE  HOSTILITIES — WASHINGTON  APPOINTED  DISTBIOT  AD- 
JUTANT-GENEEAL — MOUNT  VEENON  A  SCHOOL  OF  AEMS — ADJUTANT 
MUSE  A  VETEEAN  CAMPAIGNEE — JACOB  VAN  BEAAM  THE  MASTEE  OF 
FENCE — ILL  HEALTH  OF  WASHINGTON'S  BEOTHEE  LAWEENOE — VOYAGE 

WITH  HIM  TO  THE  WEST   INDIES — SCENES  AT  BAEBADOES TEOPIOAL 

FRUITS — BEEFSTEAK  AND   TRIPE   CLUB— EETUEN  HOME  OF  WASHING- 
TON— DEATn  OF  LAWEENOE. 

The  French  now  prepared  for  hostile  contingencies. 
They  launched  an  armed  vessel  of  unusual  size  on  Lake 
Ontario;  fortified  their  trading  house  at  Niagara; 
strengthened  their  outposts,  and  advanced  others  on 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Ohio.  A  stir  of  warlike  pre- 
paration was  likewise  to  be  observed  among  the  British 
colonies.  It  was  evident  that  the  adverse  claims  to  the 
disputed  territories,  if  pushed  home,  could  only  be 
settled  by  the  stern  arbitrament  of  the   sword. 

In  Virginia,  especially,  the  war  spirit  was  manifest. 
The  province  was  divided  into  military  districts,  each 
having  an  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and 
the  pay  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  year,  whose 
duty  was  to  attend  to  the  organization  and  equipment 
of  the  militia. 

Such  an  appointment    was   sought  by  Lawrence 


1751. J       MOUNT  VERNON    A   SCHOOL   01?   AUMS.  65 

Washington  for  his  brother  George.  It  shows  what 
must  have  been  the  maturity  of  mind  of  the  latter,  and 
the  confidence  inspired  by  his  judicious  conduct  and 
aptness  for  business,  that  the  post  should  not  only  be 
sought  for  him,  but  readily  obtained;  though  he  was 
yet  but  nineteen  years  of  age.  He  proved  himself 
worthy  of  the  appointment. 

He  now  set  about  preparing  himself,  with  his  usual 
method  and  assiduity,  for  his  new  duties.  Virginia 
had  among  its  floating  population  some  military  relics 
of  the  late  Spanish  war.  Among  these  was  a  certain 
Adjutant  Muse,  a  Westmoreland  volunteer,  who  had 
served  with  Lawrence  Washington  in  the  campaigns  in 
the  West  Indies,  and  had  been  with  him  in  the  attack 
on  Carthagena.  He  now  undertook  to  instruct  his 
brother  George  in  the  art  of  war ;  lent  him  treatises  on 
military  tactics ;  put  him  through  the  manual  exercise, 
and  gave  him  some  idea  of  evolutions  in  the  field. 
Another  of  Lawrence's  campaigning  comrades  was 
Jacob  Van  Braam,  a  Dutchman  by  birth ;  a  soldier  of 
fortune  of  the  Dalgetty  order ;  who  had  been  in  the 
British  army,  but  was  now  out  of  service,  and,  profes- 
sing to  be  a  complete  master  of  fence,  recruited  his 
slender  purse  in  this  time  of  military  excitement,  by 
giving  the  Virginian  youth  lessons  in  the  sword  exercise. 

Under  the  instructions  of  these  veterans  Mount 
Vernon,  from  being  a  quiet  rural  retreat,  where  Wash- 
ington, three  years  previously,  had  indited  love  ditties 
to  his  "  lowland  beauty,"  was  suddenly  transformed 
into  a  school  of  arms,  as  he  practised  the  manual  exer- 
cise with  Adjutant  Muse,  or  took  lessons  on  the  broad- 
sword from  Van  Braam. 
VOL.  i. — 5 


6C  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  L1751* 

His  martial  studies,  however,  were  interrupted  for  a 
time  by  the  critical  state  of  his  brother's  health.  The 
constitution  of  Lawrence  had  always  been  delicate,  and 
he  had  been  obliged  repeatedly  to  travel  for  a  change 
of  air.  There  were  now  pulmonary  symptoms  of  a 
threatening  nature,  and  by  advice  of  his  physicians 
he  determined  to  pass  a  winter  in  the  West  Indies, 
taking  with  him  his  favorite  brother  George  as  a  com- 
panion. 

They  accordingly  sailed  for  Barbadoes  on  the  28th 
of  September,  1751.  George  kept  a  journal  of  the 
voyage  with  logbook  brevity ;  recording  the  wind  and 
weather,  but  no  events  worth  citation.  They  landed 
at  Barbadoes  on  the  3d  of  November.  The  resident 
physician  of  the  place  gave  a  favorable  report  of  Law- 
rence's case,  and  held  out  hopes  of  a  cure.  The  bro- 
thers were  delighted  with  the  aspect  of  the  country,  as 
they  drove  out  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  and  beheld 
on  all  sides  fields  of  sugar  cane,  and  Indian  corn,  and 
groves  of  tropical  trees,  in  full  fruit  and  foliage. 

They  took  up  their  abode  at  a  house  pleasantly 
situated  about  a  mile  from  town,  commanding  an 
extensive  prospect  of  sea  and  land,  including  Carlyle 
bay  and  its  shipping,  and  belonging  to  Captain  Crofton, 
commander  of  James  Port. 

Barbadoes  had  its  theatre,  at  which  Washington 
witnessed  for  the  first  time  a  dramatic  representation, 
a  species  of  amusement  of  which  he  afterwards  became 
fond.  It  was  in  the  present  instance  the  doleful  tra- 
gedy of  George  Barnwell.  "  The  character  of  Barn- 
well, and  several  others,"  notes  he  in  his  journal,  "were 
said  to  be  well  performed.     There  was  music  adapted 


1751.J         SCENES  AT  BARBADOES.  67 

and  regularly  conducted/ '  A  safe  but  abstemious 
criticism. 

Among  the  hospitalities  of  the  place  the  brothers 
were  invited  to  the  house  of  a  Judge  Maynards,  to 
dine  with  an  association  of  the  first  people  of  the  place, 
who  met  at  each  other's  house  alternately  every  Satur- 
day, under  the  incontestably  English  title  of  "  The 
Beefsteak  and  Tripe  Club."  Washington  notes  with 
admiration  the  profusion  of  tropical  fruits  with  which 
the  table  was  loaded,  "  the  granadilla,  sapadella,  pome- 
granate, sweet  orange,  water-melon,  forbidden  fruit, 
and  guava."  The  homely  prosaic  beefsteak  and  tripe 
must  have  contrasted  strangely,  though  sturdily,  with 
these  magnificent  poetical  fruits  of  the  tropics.  But 
John  Bull  is  faithful  to  his  native  habits  and  native 
dishes,  whatever  may  be  the  country  or  clime,  and 
would  set  up  a  chop-house  at  the  very  gates  of  para- 
dise. 

The  brothers  had  scarcely  been  a  fortnight  at  the 
island  when  George  was  taken  down  by  a  severe  attack 
of  small-pox.  Skilful  medical  treatment,  with  the 
kind  attentions  of  friends,  and  especially  of  his  brother, 
restored  him  to  health  in  about  three  weeks ;  but  his 
face  always  remained  slightly  marked. 

After  his  recovery  he  made  excursions  about  the 
island,  noticing  its  soil,  productions,  fortifications, 
public  works,  and  the  manners  of  its  inhabitants. 
While  admiring  the  productiveness  of  the  sugar  plan- 
tations, he  was  shocked  at  the  spendthrift  habits  of  the 
planters,  and  their  utter  want  of  management. 

"  How  wonderful,"  writes  he,  "  that  such  people 
should  be  in  debt,  and  not  be  able  to  indulge  them- 


68  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1752. 

selves  in  all  the  luxuries,  as  well  as  the  necessaries  of 
life.  Yet  so  it  happens.  Estates  are  often  alienated 
for  debts.  How  persons  coming  to  estates  of  two, 
three,  and  four  hundred  acres  can  want,  is  to  me  most 
wonderful."  How  much  does  this  wonder  speak  for 
his  own  scrupulous  principle  of  always  living  within 
compass. 

The  residence  at  Barbadoes  failed  to  have  the  antici- 
pated effect  on  the  health  of  Lawrence,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  seek  the  sweet  climate  of  Bermuda  in  the 
spring.  He  felt  the  absence  from  his  wife,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  George  should  return  to  Virginia,  and 
bring  her  out  to  meet  him  at  that  island.  Accordingly, 
on  the  2 2d  of  December  George  set  sail  in  the  Indus- 
try, bound  to  Virginia,  where  he  arrived  on  the  1st 
February,  1752,  after  five  weeks  of  stormy  winter 
seafaring. 

Lawrence  remained  through  the  winter  at  Barba- 
does ;  but  the  very  mildness  of  the  climate  relaxed  and 
enervated  him.  He  felt  the  want  of  the  bracing  winter 
weather  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed.  Even  the 
invariable  beauty  of  the  climate,  the  perpetual  summer, 
wearied  the  restless  invalid.  "  This  is  the  finest  island 
of  the  West  Indies,"  said  he  ;  "  but  I  own  no  place 
can  please  me  without  a  change  of  seasons.  We  soon 
tire  of  the  same  prospect."  A  consolatory  truth  for 
the  inhabitants  of  more  capricious  climes. 

Still  some  of  the  worst  symptoms  of  his  disorder 
had  disappeared,  and  he  seemed  to  be  slowly  recover- 
ing ;  but  the  nervous  restlessness  and  desire  of  change 
often  incidental  to  his  malady,  had  taken  hold  of  him, 
and  early  in  March  he  hastened  to  Bermuda.     He  had 


1752.]  DEATH    OF   LAWRENCE.  69 

come  too  soon.  The  keen  air  of  early  spring  brought 
on  an  aggravated  return  of  his  worst  symptoms.  "  I 
have  now  got  to  my  last  refuge,"  writes  he  to  a  friend, 
"where  I  must  receive  my  final  sentence,  which  at 
present  Dr.  Forbes  will  not  pronounce.  He  leaves 
me,  however,  I  think,  like  a  criminal  condemned, 
though  not  without  hopes  of  reprieve.  But  this  I  am 
to  obtain  by  meritoriously  abstaining  from  flesh  of 
every  sort,  all  strong  liquors,  and  by  riding  as  much  as 
I  can  bear.  These  are  the  only  terms  on  which  I  am 
to  hope  for  life." 

He  was  now  afflicted  with  painful  indecision,  and 
his  letters  perplexed  his  family,  leaving  them  uncer- 
tain as  to  his  movements,  and  at  a  loss  how  to  act. 
At  one  time  he  talked  of  remaining  a  year  at  Bermuda, 
and  wrote  to  his  wife  to  come  out  with  George  and 
rejoin  him  there ;  but  the  very  same  letter  shows  his 
irresolution  and  uncertainty,  for  he  leaves  her  coming 
to  the  decision  of  herself  and  friends.  As  to  his  own 
movements,  he  says,  "  Six  weeks  will  determine  me 
what  to  resolve  on.  Forbes  advises  the  south  of 
France,  or  else  Barbadoes."  The  very  next  letter, 
written  shortly  afterwards  in  a  moment  of  despond- 
ency, talks  of  the  possibility  of  "hurrying  home  to  his 
grave  ! " 

The  last  was  no  empty  foreboding.  He  did  indeed 
hasten  back,  and  just  reached  Mount  Vernon  in  time  to 
die  under  his  own  roof,  surrounded  by  his  family  and 
friends,  and  attended  in  his  last  moments  by  that 
brother  on  whose  manly  affection  his  heart  seemed  to 
repose.  His  death  took  place  on  the  26th  July,  1752, 
when  but  thirty-four  years  of  age.     He  was  a  noble- 


70  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1752. 

spirited,  pure-minded,  accomplished  gentleman;  hon- 
ored by  the  public,  and  beloved  by  his  friends.  The 
paternal  care  ever  manifested  by  him  for  his  youthful 
brother,  George,  and  the  influence  his  own  character 
and  conduct  must  have  had  upon  him  in  his  ductile 
years,  should  link  their  memories  together  in  history, 
and  endear  the  name  of  Lawrence  Washington  to  every 
American. 

Lawrence  left  a  wife  and  an  infant  daughter  to  inhe- 
rit his  ample  estates.  In  case  his  daughter  should  die 
without  issue,  the  estate  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  other 
lands  specified  in  his  wdll,  were  to  be  enjoyed  by  her 
mother  during  her  lifetime,  and  at  her  death  to  be 
inherited  by  his  brother  George.  The  latter  was 
appointed  one  of  the  executors  of  the  will ;  but  such 
was  the  implicit  confidence  reposed  in  his  judgment 
and  integrity,  that  although  he  was  but  twenty  years  of 
age,  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  deceased 
was  soon  devolved  upon  him  almost  entirely.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  they  were  managed  with  consum- 
mate skill  and  scrupulous  fidelity. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

COUNCIL  OF  THE  OHIO  TEIBES  AT  LOGSTOWN — TEEATY  WITH  THE  ENGLISH 
— GIST'S  SETTLEMENT — SPEECHES  OF  THE  HALF-KING  AND  THE  FEENCH 
COMMANDANT — FEENCH  AGGEESSIONS — THE  RUINS  OF  PIQUA — WASH- 
INGTON SENT  ON  A  MISSION  TO  THE  FEENCH  COMMANDEE — JACOB  VAN 

BEAAM,  HIS  INTEEPEETEE CHEISTOPHEE  GIST,  HIS  GUIDE — HALT  AT 

THE  CONFLUENCE  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA  AND  ALLEGANY — PEOJECTED 
FOET — SHINGIS,  A  DELAWAEE  SACHEM — LOGSTOWN — THE  HALF-KING 
— INDIAN  COUNCILS — INDIAN  DIPLOMACY — EUMOES  CONCEENING  JON- 
OAIEE — INDIAN  ESCOETS — THE  HALF-KING,  JESKAKAKE  AND  WHITE 
THUNDEE. 

The  meeting  of  the  Ohio  tribes,  Delawares,  Shawnees, 
and  Mingoes,  to  form  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  Virginia, 
took  place  at  Logstown,  at  the  appointed  time.  The 
chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  declined  to  attend.  "  It  is 
not  our  custom,"  said  they  proudly,  "  to  meet  to  treat 
of  affairs  in  the  woods  and  weeds.  If  the  Governor  of 
Virginia  wants  to  speak  with  us,  and  deliver  us  a 
present  from  our  father  (the  king),  we  will  meet  him 
at  Albany,  where  we  expect  the  Governor  of  New 
York  will  be  present."* 

At  Logstown,  Colonel  Pry  and  two  other  com- 

*  Letter  of  Col.  Johnson  to  Gov.  Clinton,— Doc.  Hist.  1ST.  Y.  ii.,  fi24 


72  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1752. 

missioners  from  Virginia,  concluded  a  treaty  with  the 
tribes  above  named ;  by  which  the  latter  engaged  not 
to  molest  any  English  settlers  south  of  the  Ohio. 
Tanacharisson,  the  half-king,  now  advised  that  his 
brothers  of  Virginia  should  build  a  strong  house  at  the 
fork  of  the  Monongahela,  to  resist  the  designs  of  the 
French.  Mr.  Gist  was  accordingly  instructed  to  lay 
out  a  town  and  build  a  fort  at  Chartier's  Creek,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Ohio,  a  little  below  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Pittsburg.  He  commenced  a  settle- 
ment, also,  in  a  valley  just  beyond  Laurel  Hill,  not  far 
from  the  Youghiogeny,  and  prevailed  on  eleven  families 
to  join  him.  The  Ohio  Company,  about  the  same 
time,  established  a  trading  post,  well  stocked  with 
English  goods,  at  Wills'  Creek  (now  Cumberland 
River). 

The  Ohio  tribes  were  greatly  incensed  at  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  Erench,  who  were  erecting  posts  within 
their  territories,  and  sent  deputations  to  remonstrate, 
but  without  effect.  The  half-king,  as  chief  of  the 
western  tribes,  repaired  to  the  Erench  posts  on  Lake 
Erie,  where  he  made  his  complaint  in  person. 

"Eathers,"  said  he,  "you  are  the  disturbers  of  this 
land  by  building  towns,  and  taking  the  country  from 
us  by  fraud  and  force.  We  kindled  a  fire  a  long  time 
since  at  Montreal,  where  we  desired  you  to  stay,  and 
not  to  come  and  intrude  upon  our  land.  I  now  advise 
you  to  return  to  that  place,  for  this  land  is  ours. 

"  If  you  had  come  in  a  peaceable  manner,  like  our 
brothers  the  English,  we  should  have  traded  with  you 
as  we  do  with  them ;  but  that  you  should  come  and 
build  houses  on  our  land,  and  take  it  by  force,  is  what 


1752.J  FRENCH  HAUTEUR.  73 

we  cannot  submit  to.  Both  you  and  the  English  are 
white.  We  live  in  a  country  between  you  both  ;  the 
land  belongs  to  neither  of  you.  The  Great  Being 
allotted  it  to  us  as  a  residence.  So,  fathers,  I  desire 
you,  as  I  have  desired  our  brothers  the  English,  to 
withdraw,  for  I  will  keep  you  both  at  arm's  length. 
Whichever  most  regards  this  request,  that  side  will  we 
stand  by  and  consider  friends.  Our  brothers,  the 
English,  have  heard  this,  and  I  now  come  to  tell  it  to 
you,  for  I  am  not  afraid  to  order  you  off  this  land." 

"Child,"  replied  the  Erench  commandant,  "you 
talk  foolishly.  You  say  this  land  belongs  to  you ; 
there  is  not  the  black  of  my  nail  yours.  It  is 
my  land,  and  I  will  have  it,  let  who  will  stand  up 
against  me.  I  am  not  afraid  of  flies  and  mosquitoes, 
for  as  such  I  consider  the  Indians.  I  tell  you  that  down 
the  river  I  will  go,  and  build  upon  it.  If  it  were 
blocked  up  I  have  forces  sufficient  to  burst  it  open  and 
trample  down  all  who  oppose  me.  My  force  is  as  the 
sand  upon  the  sea-shore.  Therefore  here  is  your  wam- 
pum ;  I  fling  it  at  you." 

Tanacharisson  returned,  wounded  at  heart,  both  by 
the  language  and  the  haughty  manner  of  the  Erench 
commandant.  He  saw  the  ruin  impending  over  his 
race,  but  looked  with  hope  and  trust  to  the  English 
as  the  power  least  disposed  to  wrong  the  red  man. 

French  influence  was  successful  in  other  quarters. 
Some  of  the  Indians  who  had  been  friendly  to  the 
English  showed  signs  of  alienation.  Others  menaced 
hostilities.  There  were  reports  that  the  Erench  were 
ascending  the  Mississippi  from  Louisiana.  Erance,  it 
was  said,  intended  to  connect  Louisiana  and  Canada  by 


74  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

a  chain  of  military  posts,  and  hem  the  English  within 
the  Allegany  Mountains. 

The  Ohio  Company  complained  loudly  to  the  Lieu- 
tenant-governor of  Virginia,  the  Hon.  Robert  Dinwid- 
die,  of  the  hostile  conduct  of  the  French  and  their 
Indian  allies.  They  found  in  Dinwiddie  a  ready  list- 
ener ;  he  was  a  stockholder  in  the  company. 

A  commissioner,  Captain  William  Trent,  was  sent 
to  expostulate  with  the  French  commander  on  the  Ohio 
for  his  aggressions  on  the  territory  of  his  Britannic 
majesty ;  he  bore  presents  also  of  guns,  powder,  shot, 
and  clothing  for  the  friendly  Indians.  Trent  was  not 
a  man  of  the  true  spirit  for  a  mission  to  the  frontier. 
He  stopped  a  short  time  at  Logstown,  though  the  French 
were  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  further  up  the  river, 
and  directed  his  course  to  Piqua,  the  great  town  of 
the  Twightwees,  where  Gist  and  Croghan  had  been  so 
well  received  by  the  Miamis,  and  the  French  flag 
struck  in  the  council-house.  All  now  was  reversed. 
The  place  had  been  attacked  by  the  French  and 
Indians ;  the  Miamis  defeated  with  great  loss ;  the 
English  traders  taken  prisoners ;  the  Piankesha  chief, 
who  had  so  proudly  turned  his  back  upon  the  Ottawa 
ambassadors,  had  been  sacrificed  by  the  hostile  sava- 
ges, and  the  French  flag  hoisted  in  triumph  on  the 
ruins  of  the  town.  The  whole  aspect  of  affairs  was 
so  threatening  on  the  frontier,  that  Trent  lost  heart, 
and  returned  home  without  accomplishing  his  errand. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  now  looked  round  for  a  person 
more  fitted  to  fulfil  a  mission  which  required  physical 
strength  and  moral  energy ;  a  courage  to  cope  with 
savages,  and  a  sagacity  to  negotiate  with  white  men. 


1753.]       MISSION  TO  THE  FRENCH  COMMANDER.  75 

Washington  was  pointed  out,  as  possessed  of  those 
requisites.  It  is  true  he  was  not  yet  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  but  public  confidence  in  his  judgment  and 
abilities  had  been  manifested  a  second  time,  by  renewing 
his  appointment  of  adjutant-general,  and  assigning  him 
the  northern  division.  He  was  acquainted  too  with 
the  matters  in  litigation,  having  been  in  the  bosom 
councils  of  his  deceased  brother.  His  woodland  expe- 
rience fitted  him  for  an  expedition  through  the  wilder- 
ness ;  and  his  great  discretion  and  self-command  for  a 
negotiation  with  wily  commanders  and  fickle  savages. 
He  was  accordingly  chosen  for  the  expedition. 

By  his  letter  of  instructions  he  was  directed  to 
repair  to  Logstown,  and  hold  a  communication  with 
Tanacharisson,  Monacatoocha,  alias  Scarooyadi,  the  next 
in  command,  and  the  other  sachems  of  the  mixed 
tribes  friendly  to  the  English;  inform  them  of  the 
purport  of  his  errand,  and  request  an  escort  to  the 
head-quarters  of  the  French  commander.  To  that 
commander  he  was  to  deliver  his  credentials,  and  the 
letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  and  demand  an  answer 
in  the  name  of  his  Britannic  majesty ;  but  not  to  wait 
for  it  beyond  a  week.  On  receiving  it,  he  was  to  re- 
quest a  sufficient  escort  to  protect  him  on  his  return. 

He  was,  moreover,  to  acquaint  himself  with  the 
numbers  and  force  of  the  French  stationed  on  the  Ohio 
and  in  its  vicinity ;  their  capability  of  being  reinforced 
from  Canada;  the  forts  they  had  erected;  where 
situated,  how  garrisoned;  the  object  of  their  advan- 
cing into  those  parts,  and  how  they  were  likely  to  be 
supported. 

Washington  set  off  from  Williamsburg  on   the 


76  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

30th  of  October  (1753),  the  very  day  on  which  he 
received  his  credentials.  At  Fredericksburg  he  en- 
gaged his  old  "  master  of  fence,"  Jacob  Van  Braam, 
to  accompany  him  as  interpreter;  though  it  would 
appear  from  subsequent  circumstances,  that  the  vet- 
eran swordsman  was  but  indifferently  versed  either  in 
French  or  English. 

Having  provided  himself  at  Alexandria  with  neces- 
^  saries  for  the  journey,  he  proceeded  to  Winchester,  then 
on  the  frontier,  where  he  procured  horses,  tents,  and 
other  travelling  equipments,  and  then  pushed  on  by 
a  road  newly  opened  to  Wills'  Creek  (Cumberland 
River),  where  he  arrived  on  the  14th  of  November. 

Here  he  met  with  Mr.  Gist,  the  intrepid  pioneer, 
who  had  explored  the  Ohio  in  the  employ  of  the  com- 
pany, and  whom  he  engaged  to  accompany  and  pilot 
him  in  the  present  expedition.  He  secured  the 
services  also  of  one  John  Davidson  as  Indian  inter- 
preter, and  of  four  frontiersmen,  two  of  whom  were 
Indian  traders.  With  this  little  band,  and  his  swords- 
man and  interpreter,  Jacob  Van  Braam,  he  set  forth 
on  the  15th  of  November,  through  a  wild  country, 
rendered  almost  impassable  by  recent  storms  of  rain 
and  snow. 

At  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  on  the  Monongahela, 
he  found  John  Frazier,  the  Indian  trader,  some  of 
whose  people,  as  heretofore  stated,  had  been  sent  off 
prisoners  to  Canada.  Frazier  himself  had  recently 
been  ejected  by  the  French  from  the  Indian  village  of 
Venango,  where  he  had  a  gunsmith's  establishment. 
According  to  his  account,  the  French  general  who  had 


1753.J  PROJECTED   FORT.  77 

commanded  on  this  frontier  was  dead,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  forces  were  retired  into  winter  quarters. 

As  the  rivers  were  all  swollen  so  that  the  horses 
had  to  swim  them,  Washington  sent  all  the  baggage 
down  the  Monongahela  in  a  canoe  under  care  of  two 
of  the  men,  who  had  orders  to  meet  him  at  the  con- 
fluence of  that  river  with  the  Allegany,  where  their 
united  waters  form  the  Ohio. 

"  As  I  got  down  before  the  canoe,"  writes  he  in  his 
journal,  "  I  spent  some  time  in  viewing  the  rivers,  and 
the  land  at  the  Fork,  which  I  think  extremely  well 
situated  for  a  fort,  as  it  has  the  absolute  command  of 
both  rivers.  The  land  at  the  point  is  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  feet  above  the  common  surface  of  the  water,  and 
a  considerable  bottom  of  flat,  well-timbered  land  all 
around  it,  very  convenient  for  building.  The  rivers 
are  each  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  more  across,  and  run 
here  very  nearly  at  right  angles;  Allegany  bearing 
north-east,  and  Monongahela  south-east.  The  former 
of  these  two  is  a  very  rapid  and  swift-running  water, 
the  other  deep  and  still,  without  any  perceptible  fall." 
The  Ohio  company  had  intended  to  build  a  fort  about 
two  miles  from  this  place,  on  the  south-east  side  of  the 
river;  but  Washington  gave  the  fork  the  decided 
preference.  French  engineers  of  experience  proved 
the  accuracy  of  his  military  eye,  by  subsequently 
choosing  it  for  the  site  of  Port  Duquesne,  noted  in 
frontier  history. 

In  this  neighborhood  lived  Shingis,  the  king  or 
chief  sachem  of  the  Delawares.  Washington  visited 
him  at  his  village,  to  invite  him  to  the  council  at 
Logstown.     He  was  one  of  the  greatest  warriors  of  his 


78  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

tribe,  and  subsequently  took  up  the  hatchet  at  various 
times  against  the  English,  though  now  he  seemed  fa- 
vorably disposed,  and  readily  accepted  the  invitation. 

They  arrived  at  Logstown  after  sunset  on  the  24th 
of  November.  The  half-king  was  absent  at  his  hunt- 
ing lodge  on  Beaver  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles 
distant;  but  Washington  had  runners  sent  out  to 
invite  him  and  all  the  other  chiefs  to  a  grand  talk  on 
the  following  day. 

In  the  morning  four  French  deserters  came  into 
the  village.  They  had  deserted  from  a  company  of 
one  hundred  men,  sent  up  from  New  Orleans  with 
eight  canoes  laden  with  provisions.  Washington  drew 
from  them  an  account  of  the  French  force  at  New 
Orleans,  and  of  the  forts  along  the  Mississippi,  and 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  by  which  they  kept  up  a 
communication  with  the  lakes ;  all  which  he  carefully 
noted  down.  The  deserters  were  on  their  way  to 
Philadelphia,  conducted  by  a  Pennsylvania  trader. 

About  three  o'clock  the  half-king  arrived.  Wash- 
ington had  a  private  conversation  with  him  in  his  tent, 
through  Davidson,  the  interpreter.  He  found  hhn 
intelligent,  patriotic,  and  proudly  tenacious  of  his 
territorial  rights.  We  have  already  cited  from  Wash- 
ington's papers,  the  account  given  by  this  chief  in  this 
conversation,  of  his  interview  with  the  late  French  com- 
mander. He  stated,  moreover,  that  the  French  had 
built  two  forts,  differing  in  size,  but  on  the  same 
model,  a  plan  of  which  he  gave,  of  his  own  drawing. 
The  largest  was  on  Lake  Erie,  the  other  on  French 
Creek,  fifteen  miles  apart,  with  a  waggon  road  between 
them.     The  nearest  and  levellest  way  to  them  was  now 


1753.]  INDIAN    COUNCILS.  79 

impassable,  lying  through  large  and  miry  savannas; 
they  would  have,  therefore,  to  go  by  Venango,  and  it 
would  take  five  or  six  sleeps  (or  days)  of  good  travel- 
ling to  reach  the  nearest  fort.  On  the  following 
morning  at  nine  o'clock,  the  chiefs  assembled  at  the 
council-house;  where  Washington,  according  to  his 
instructions,  informed  them  that  he  was  sent  by  their 
brother,  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  to  deliver  to  the 
French  commandant  a  letter  of  great  importance,  both 
to  their  brothers  the  English  and  to  themselves ;  and 
that  he  was  to  ask  their  advice  and  assistance,  and 
some  of  their  young  men  to  accompany  and  provide  for 
him  on  the  way,  and  be  his  safeguard  against  the 
"French  Indians"  who  had  taken  up  the  hatchet. 
He  concluded  by  presenting  the  indispensable  docu- 
ment in  Indian  diplomacy,  a  string  of  wampum. 

The  chiefs,  according  to  etiquette,  sat  for  some 
moments  silent  after  he  had  concluded,  as  if  ruminating 
on  what  had  been  said,  or  to  give  him  time  for  further 
remark. 

The  half-king  then  rose  and  spoke  in  behalf  of  the 
tribes,  assuring  him  that  they  considered  the  English 
and  themselves  brothers,  and  one  people;  and  that 
they  intended  to  return  the  French  the  "  speech-belts," 
or  wampums,  which  the  latter  had  sent  them.  This, 
in  Indian  diplomacy,  is  a  renunciation  of  all  friendly 
relations.  An  escort  would  be  furnished  to  Washing- 
ton composed  of  Mingoes,  Shannoahs,  and  Delawares, 
in  token  of  the  love  and  loyalty  of  those  several  tribes ; 
but  three  days  would  be  required  to  prepare  for  the 
journey. 

Washington  remonstrated  against  such  delay ;  but 


80  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

was  informed,  that  an  affair  of  such  moment,  where 
three  speech-belts  were  to  be  given  up,  was  not  to  be 
entered  into  without  due  consideration.  Besides,  the 
young  men  who  were  to  form  the  escort  were  absent 
hunting,  and  the  half-king  could  not  suffer  the  party  to  go 
without  sufficient  protection.  His  own  French  speech- 
belt,  also,  was  at  his  hunting  lodge,  where  he  must  go 
in  quest  of  it.  Moreover,  the  Shannoah  chiefs  were 
yet  absent,  and  must  be  waited  for.  In  short,  Wash- 
ington had  his  first  lesson  in  Indian  diplomacy,  which 
for  punctilio,  ceremonial,  and  secret  manceuvering,  is 
equal  at  least  to  that  of  civilized  life.  He  soon  found 
that  to  urge  a  more  speedy  departure  would  be  offen- 
sive to  Indian  dignity  and  decorum,  so  he  was  fain  to 
await  the  gathering  together  of  the  different  chiefs  with 
their  speech-belts. 

In  fact  there  was  some  reason  for  all  this  caution. 
Tidings  had  reached  the  sachems  that  Captain  Joncaire 
had  called  a  meeting  at  Venango,  of  the  Mingoes, 
Delawares,  and  other  tribes,  and  made  them  a  speech, 
informing  them  that  the  French,  for  the  present,  had 
gone  into  winter  quarters,  but  intended  to  descend  the 
river  in  great  force,  and  fight  the  English  in  the  spring. 
He  had  advised  them,  therefore,  to  stand  aloof;  for 
should  they  interfere,  the  French  and  English  would 
join,  cut  them  all  off,  and  divide  their  land  between 
them. 

With  these  rumors  preying  on  their  minds,  the 
half-king  and  three  other  chiefs  waited  on  Washington 
in  his  tent  in  the  evening,  and  after  representing  that 
they  had  complied  with  all  the  requisitions  of  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  endeavored  to  draw  from  the 


1753.]  THE    SACHEMS.  81 

youthful  ambassador  the  true  purport  of  his  mission  to 
the  French  commandant.  Washington  had  anticipated 
an  inquiry  of  the  kind,  knowing  how  natural  it  was 
that  these  poor  people  should  regard,  with  anxiety  and 
distrust,  every  movement  of  two  formidable  powers 
thus  pressing  upon  them  from  opposite  sides;  he 
managed,  however,  to  answer  them  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  allay  their  solicitude  without  transcending  the 
bounds  of  diplomatic  secrecy. 

After  a  day  or  two  more  of  delay  and  further  con- 
sultations in  the  council-house,  the  chiefs  determined 
that  but  three  of  their  number  should  accompany  the 
mission,  as  a  greater  number  might  awaken  the  suspi- 
cions of  the  French.  Accordingly,  on  the  30th  of 
November,  Washington  set  out  for  the  French  post, 
having  his  usual  party  augmented  by  an  Indian  hunter, 
and  being  accompanied  by  the  half-king,  an  old 
Shannoah  sachem  named  Jeskakake,  and  another 
chief,  sometimes  called  Belt  of  Wampum,  from  being 
the  keeper  of  the  speech-belts,  but  generally  bearing 
the  sounding  appellation  of  White  Thunder. 
vol.  i. — 6 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ABBIVAL  AT  VENANGO — CAPTAIN  JONOAIEE — FEONTIEB  BEVELEY — ^DIS- 
CUSSIONS OVEB  THE  BOTTLE — THE  OLD  DIPLOMATIST  AND  THE  YOUNG 
— THE  HALF-KING,  JESKAKAKE,  AND  WHITE  THUNDEB  STAGGEBED — 
THE   SPEECH-BELT — DEPABTUBE — LA  FOBCE,  THE  WILY  COMMISSAEY 

FOET    AT    FEENCH    OBEEK — THE    CHEVALIEB    LEGAEDEUB    DE    ST. 

PIEBBE,  KNIGHT  OF  ST.  LOUIS — CAPTAIN  BEPAETI — TBANSACTIONS  AT 
THE  FOET — ATTEMPTS  TO  SEDUCE  THE  SACHEMS — MISCHIEF  BEEWING 
ON  THE  FEONTD3B — DIFFICULTIES  AND  DELAYS  IN  PABTING — DESCENT 
OF  FEENCH  OEEEK — AEBIVAL  AT  VENANGO. 

Although  the  distance  to  Venango,  by  the  route  taken, 
was  not  above  seventy  miles,  yet  such  was  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather  and  the  difficulty  of  travelling,  that 
Washington  and  his  party  did  not  arrive  there  until  the 
4th  of  December.  The  French  colors  were  flying  at 
a  house  whence  John  Frazier,  the  English  trader,  had 
been  driven.  Washington  repaired  thither,  and  in- 
quired of  three  French  officers  whom  he  saw  there 
where  the  commandant  resided.  One  of  them  prompt- 
ly replied  that  he  "  had  the  command  of  the  Ohio." 
It  was,  in  fact,  the  redoubtable  Captain  Joncaire,  the 
veteran  intriguer  of  the  frontier.  On  being  apprised, 
however,  of  the  nature  of  Washington's  errand,  he 
informed  him  that  there  was  a  general  officer  at  the 


1753.]  FRONTIER    REVELRY.  83 

next  fort,  where  he  advised  him  to  apply  for  an  answer 
to  the  letter  of  which  he  was  the  bearer. 

In  the  mean  time,  he  invited  Washington  and  his 
party  to  a  supper  at  head-quarters.  It  proved  a  jovial 
one,  for  Joncaire  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  of  a 
boon  companion,  and  there  is  always  ready,  though 
rough  hospitality  in  the  wilderness.  It  is  true,  Wash- 
ington, for  so  young  a  man,  may  not  have  had  the 
most  convivial  air,  but  there  may  have  been  a  moist 
look  of  promise  in  the  old  soldier  Van  Braam. 

Joncaire  and  his  brother  officers  pushed  the  bottle 
briskly.  "The  wine,"  says  Washington,  "as  they 
dosed  themselves  pretty  plentifully  with  it,  soon  ban- 
ished the  restraint  which  at  first  appeared  in  their 
conversation,  and  gave  a  license  to  their  tongues  to 
reveal  their  sentiments  more  freely.  They  told  me 
that  it  was  their  absolute  design  to  take  possession  of 
the  Ohio,  and  by  G —  they  would  do  it;  for  that 
although  they  were  sensible  the  English  could  raise 
two  men  for  their  one,  yet  they  knew  their  motions 
were  too  slow  and  dilatory  to  prevent  any  undertaking. 
They  pretend  to  have  an  undoubted  right  to  the  river 
from  a  discovery  made  by  one  La  Salle  sixty  years 
ago,  and  the  rise  of  this  expedition  is  to  prevent  our 
settling  on  the  river  or  the  waters  of  it,  as  they  heard 
of  some  families  moving  out  in  order  thereto." 

Washington  retained  his  sobriety  and  his  com- 
posure throughout  all  the  rodomontade  and  baccha- 
nalian outbreak  of  the  mercurial  Frenchmen ;  leaving 
the  task  of  pledging  them  to  his  master  of  fence,  Van 
Braam,  who  was  not  a  man  to  flinch  from  potations. 
He  took  careful  note,  however,  of  all  their  revelations, 


84  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

and  collected  a  variety  of  information  concerning  the 
French  forces ;  how  and  where  they  were  distributed ;  the 
situations  and  distances  of  their  forts,  and  their  means 
and  mode  of  obtaining  supplies.  If  the  veteran  diplomat- 
ist of  the  wilderness  had  intended  this  revel  for  a  snare, 
he  was  completely  foiled  by  his  youthful  competitor. 

On  the  following  day  there  was  no  travelling  on 
account  of  excessive  rain.  Joncaire,  in  the  mean  time, 
having  discovered  that  the  half-king  was  with  the 
mission,  expressed  his  surprise  that  he  had  not  accom- 
panied it  to  his  quarters  on  the  preceding  day. 
Washington,  in  truth,  had  feared  to  trust  the  sachem 
within  the  reach  of  the  politic  Frenchman.  Nothing 
would  do  now  but  Joncaire  must  have  the  sachems  at 
head-quarters.  Here  his  diplomacy  was  triumphant. 
He  received  them  with  open  arms.  He  was  enrap- 
tured to  see  them.  His  Indian  brothers  !  How  could 
they  be  so  near  without  coming  to  visit  him?  He 
made  them  presents;  but,  above  all,  plied  them  so 
potently  with  liquor,  that  the  poor  half-king,  Jeska- 
kake,  and  White  Thunder  forgot  all  about  their  wrongs, 
their  speeches,  their  speech-belts,  and  all  the  business 
they  had  come  upon ;  paid  no  heed  to  the  repeated 
cautions  of  their  English  friends,  and  were  soon  in  a 
complete  state  of  frantic  extravagance  or  drunken 
oblivion. 

The  next  day  the  half-king  made  his  appearance  at 
Washington's  tent,  perfectly  sober,  and  very  much 
crestfallen.  He  declared,  however,  that  he  still  in- 
tended to  make  his  speech  to  the  French,  and  offered 
to  rehearse  it  on  the  spot ;  but  Washington  advised 
him  not  to  waste  his  ammunition  on  inferior  game  like 


1753.]         LA   FORCE,    THE   WILY    COMMISSARY.  85 

Joncaire  and  his  comrades,  but  to  reserve  it  for  the 
commandant.  The  sachem  was  not  to  be  persuaded. 
Here,  he  said,  was  the  place  of  the  council  fire,  where 
they  were  accustomed  to  transact  their  business  with  the 
French ;  and  as  to  Joncaire,  he  had  all  the  management 
of  French  affairs  with  the  Indians. 

Washington  was  fain  to  attend  the  council  fire  and 
listen  to  the  speech.  It  was  much  the  same  in  pur- 
port as  that  which  he  had  made  to  the  French  general, 
and  he  ended  by  offering  to  return  the  French  speech- 
belt  ;  but  this  Joncaire  refused  to  receive,  telling  him 
to  carry  it  to  the  commander  at  the  fort. 

All  that  day  and  the  next  was  the  party  kept  at 
Venango  by  the  stratagems  of  Joncaire  and  his 
emissaries  to  detain  and  seduce  the  sachems.  It  was 
not  until  12  o'clock,  on  the  7th  of  December,  that 
Washington  was  able  to  extricate  them  out  of  their 
clutches  and  commence  his  journey. 

A  French  commissary  by  the  name  of  La  Force, 
and  three  soldiers,  set  off  in  company  with  him.  La 
Force  went  as  if  on  ordinary  business,  but  he  proved 
one  of  the  most  active,  daring,  and  mischief-making  of 
those  anomalous  agents  employed  by  the  French 
among  the  Indian  tribes.  It  is  probable  that  he  was 
at  the  bottom  of  many  of  the  perplexities  experienced 
by  Washington  at  Venango,  and  now  travelled  with 
him  for  the  prosecution  of  his  wiles.  He  will  be 
found,  hereafter,  acting  a  more  prominent  part,  and 
ultimately  reaping  the  fruit  of  his  evil  doings. 

After  four  days  of  weary  travel  through  snow  and 
rain,  and  mire  and  swamp,  the  party  reached  the  fort. 
It  was  situated  on  a  kind  of  island  on  the  west  fork  of 


86  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

French  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  south  of  Lake  Erie, 
and  consisted  of  four  houses,  forming  a  hollow  square, 
defended  by  bastions  made  of  palisades  twelve  feet 
high,  picketed,  and  pierced  for  cannon  and  small  arms. 
Within  the  bastions  were  a  guard-house,  chapel,  and 
other  buildings,  and  outside  were  stables,  a  smith's 
forge,  and  log-houses  covered  with  bark,  for  the  soldiers. 

On  the  death  of  the  late  general,  the  fort  had 
remained  in  charge  of  one  Captain  Reparti  until  within 
a  week  past,  when  the  Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St. 
Pierre  had  arrived,  and  taken  command. 

The  reception  of  Washington  at  the  fort  was  very 
different  from  the  unceremonious  one  experienced  at 
the  outpost  of  Joncaire  and  his  convivial  messmates. 
When  he  presented  himself  at  the  gate,  accompanied 
by  his  interpreter,  Van  Braam,  he  was  met  by  the  offi- 
cer second  in  command  and  conducted  in  due  military 
form  to  his  superior;  an  ancient  and  silver-haired 
chevalier  of  the  military  order  of  St.  Louis,  courteous 
but  ceremonious;  mingling  the  polish  of  the  French 
gentleman  of  the  old  school  with  the  precision  of  the 
soldier. 

Having  announced  his  errand  through  his  interpre- 
ter, Van  Braam,  Washington  offered  his  credentials  and 
the  letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  and  was  disposed  to 
proceed  at  once  to  business  with  the  prompt  frankness 
of  a  young  man  unhackneyed  in  diplomacy.  The  chev- 
alier, however,  politely  requested  him  to  retain  the  do- 
cuments in  his  possession  until  his  predecessor,  Captain 
Reparti,  should  arrive,  who  was  hourly  expected  from 
the  next  post. 

At  two  o'clock  the  captain  arrived.    The  letter  and 


1753.]  TRANSACTIONS   AT   THE   FORT.  87 

its  accompanying  documents  were  then  offered  again, 
and  received  in  due  form,  and  the  chevalier  and  his 
officers  retired  with  them  into  a  private  apartment, 
where  the  captain,  who  understood  a  little  English, 
officiated  as  translator.  The  translation  being  finished, 
Washington  was  requested  to  walk  in  and  bring  his 
translator,  Van  Braam,  with  him,  to  peruse  and  correct 
it,  which  he  did. 

In  this  letter,  Dinwiddie  complained  of  the  intru- 
sion of  French  forces  into  the  Ohio  country,  erecting 
forts  and  making  settlements  in  the  western  parts  of 
the  colony  of  Virginia,  so  notoriously  known  to  be  the 
property  of  the  crown  of  Great  Britain.  He  inquired 
by  whose  authority  and  instructions  the  French  Com- 
mander-general had  marched  this  force  from  Canada, 
and  made  this  invasion ;  intimating  that  his  own  action 
would  be  regulated  by  the  answer  he  should  receive, 
and  the  tenor  of  the  commission  with  which  he  was 
honored.  At  the  same  time  he  required  of  the  com- 
mandant his  peaceable  departure,  and  that  he  would 
forbear  to  prosecute  a  purpose  "  so  interruptive  of  the 
harmony  and  good  understanding  which  his  majesty 
was  desirous  to  continue  and  cultivate  with  the  most 
catholic  king." 

The  latter  part  of  the  letter  related  to  the  youthful 
envoy.  "I  persuade  myself  you  will  receive  and 
entertain  Major  Washington  with  the  candor  and 
politeness  natural  to  your  nation,  and  it  will  give  me 
the  greatest  satisfaction  if  you  can  return  him  with  an 
answer  suitable  to  my  wishes  for  a  long  and  lasting 
peace  between  us." 

The  two  following  days  were  consumed  in  councils 


88  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

of  the  chevalier  and  his  officers  over  the  letter,  and  the 
necessary  reply.  Washington  occupied  himself  in  the 
mean  time  in  observing  and  taking  notes  of  the  plan, 
dimensions,  and  strength  of  the  fort,  and  of  every 
tiling  about  it.  He  gave  orders  to  his  people,  also,  to 
take  an  exact  account  of  the  canoes  in  readiness,  and 
others  in  the  process  of  construction,  for  the  conveyance 
of  troops  down  the  river  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

As  the  weather  continued  stormy,  with  much  snow, 
and  the  horses  were  daily  losing  strength,  he  sent  them 
down,  unladen,  to  Venango,  to  await  his  return  by 
water.  In  the  mean  time,  he  discovered  that  busy 
intrigues  were  going  on  to  induce  the  half-king  and 
the  other  sachems  to  abandon  him,  and  renounce  all 
friendship  with  the  English.  Upon  learning  this,  he 
urged  the  chiefs  to  deliver  up  their  "  speech-belts  " 
immediately,  as  they  had  promised,  thereby  shaking 
off  all  dependence  upon  the  French.  They  according- 
ly pressed  for  an  audience  that  very  evening.  A 
private  one  was  at  length  granted  them  by  the 
commander,  in  presence  of  one  or  two  of  his  officers. 
The  half-king  reported  the  result  of  it  to  Washington. 
The  venerable  but  astute  chevalier  cautiously  evaded 
the  acceptance  of  the  proffered  wampum  ;  made  many 
professions  of  love  and  friendship,  and  said  he  wished 
to  live  in  peace  and  trade  amicably  with  the  tribes  of 
the  Ohio,  in  proof  of  which  he  would  send  down  some 
goods  immediately  for  them  to  Logstown. 

As  Washington  understood,  privately,  that  an  offi- 
cer was  to  accompany  the  man  employed  to  convey  these 
goods,  he  suspected  that  the  real  design  was  to  arrest 
and  bring  off  all  straggling  English  traders  they  might 


1753.J  TRANSACTIONS    AT    THE    FORT.  89 

meet  with.  What  strengthened  this  opinion  was  a 
frank  avowal  which  had  been  made  to  him  by  the  che- 
valier, that  he  had  orders  to  capture  every  British 
subject  who  should  attempt  to  trade  upon  the  Ohio  or 
its  waters. 

Captain  Reparti,  also,  in  reply  to  his  inquiry  as  to 
what  had  been  done  with  two  Pennsylvania  traders, 
who  had  been  taken  with  all  their  goods,  informed  him 
that  they  had  been  sent  to  Canada,  but  had  since 
returned  home.  He  had  stated,  furthermore,  that 
during  the  time  he  held  command,  a  white  boy  had 
been  carried  captive  past  the  fort  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
who  had  with  them,  also,  two  or  three  white  men's 
scalps. 

All  these  circumstances  showed  him  the  mischief 
that  was  brewing  in  these  parts,  and  the  treachery  and 
violence  that  pervaded  the  frontier,  and  made  him  the 
more  solicitous  to  accomplish  his  mission  successfully, 
and  conduct  his  little  band  in  safety  out  of  a  wily 
neighborhood. 

.  On  the  evening  of  the  14th,  the  Chevalier  de  St. 
Pierre  delivered  to  Washington  his  sealed  reply  to  the 
letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie.  The  purport  of  pre- 
vious conversations  with  the  chevalier,  and  the  whole 
complexion  of  affairs  on  the  frontier,  left  no  doubt  of 
the  nature  of  that  reply. 

The  business  of  his  mission  being  accomplished, 
Washington  prepared  on  the  15th  to  return  by  water 
to  Venango ;  but  a  secret  influence  was  at  work  which 
retarded  every  movement. 

"  The  commandant,"  writes  he,  "  ordered  a  plenti- 
ful store  of  liquor  and  provisions  to  be  put  on  board 


90  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

our  canoes,  and  appeared  to  be  extremely  complaisant, 
though  he  was  exerting  every  artifice  which  he  could 
invent  to  set  our  Indians  at  variance  with  us,  to 
prevent  their  going  until  after  our  departure ;  presents, 
rewards,  and  every  thing  which  could  be  suggested  by 
him  or  his  officers.  I  cannot  say  that  ever  in  my  life 
I  suffered  so  much  anxiety  as  I  did  in  this  affair.  I 
saw  that  every  stratagem  which  the  most  fruitful  brain 
could  invent  was  practised  to  win  the  half-king  to  theii 
interests,  and  that  leaving  him  there  was  giving  them 
the  opportunity  they  aimed  at.  I  went  to  the  half- 
king,  and  pressed  him  in  the  strongest  terms  to  go  • 
he  told  me  that  the  commandant  would  not  discharge 
him  until  the  morning.  I  then  went  to  the  command- 
ant, and  desired  him  to  do  their  business,  and 
complained  to  him  of  ill  treatment ;  for,  keeping  them, 
as  they  were  a  part  of  my  company,  was  detaining  me. 
This  he  promised  not  to  do,  but  to  forward  my  journey 
as  much  as  he  could.  He  protested  he  did  not  keep 
them,  but  was  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  their  stay ; 
though  I  soon  found  it  out.  He  had  promised  them  a 
present  of  guns  if  they  would  wait  until  the  morning. 
As  I  was  very  much  pressed  by  the  Indians  to  wait 
this  day  for  them,  I  consented,  on  the  promise  that 
nothing  should  hinder  them  in  the  morning." 

The  next  morning  (16th)  the  French,  in  fulfilment 
of  their  promise,  had  to  give  the  present  of  guns.  They 
then  endeavored  to  detain  the  sachems  with  liquor, 
which  at  any  other  time  might  have  prevailed ;  but 
Washington  reminded  the  half-king  that  his  royal  word 
was  pledged  to  depart,  and  urged  it  upon  him  so  close- 


1753.]  ARRIVAL   AT   VENANGO.  91 

ly  that,  exerting  unwonted  resolution  and  self-denial, 
he  turned  his  back  upon  the  liquor  and  embarked. 

It  was  rough  and  laborious  navigation.  French 
Creek  was  swollen  and  turbulent,  and  full  of  floating 
ice.  The  frail  canoes  were  several  times  in  danger  of 
being  staved  to  pieces  against  rocks.  Often  the  voy- 
agers had  to  leap  out  and  remain  in  the  water  half  an 
hour  at  a  time,  drawing  the  canoes  over  shoals,  and  at 
one  place  to  carry  them  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across  a 
neck  of  land,  the  river  being  completely  dammed 
by  ice.  It  was  not  until  the  22d  that  they  reached 
Venango. 

Here  Washington  was  obliged  most  unwillingly  to 
part  company  with  the  sachems.  White  Thunder  had 
hurt  himself  and  was  ill  and  unable  to  walk,  and  the  oth- 
ers determined  to  remain  at  Venango  for  a  day  or  two, 
and  convey  him  down  the  river  in  a  canoe.  There  was 
danger  that  the  smooth-tongued  and  convivial  Joncaire 
would  avail  himself  of  the  interval  to  ply  the  poor 
monarchs  of  the  woods  with  flattery  and  liquor. 
Washington  endeavored  to  put  the  worthy  half-king  on 
his  guard,  knowing  that  he  had  once  before  shown 
himself  but  little  proof  against  the  seductions  of  the 
bottle.  The  sachem,  however,  desired  him  not  to  be 
concerned ;  he  knew  the  French  too  well  for  any  thing 
to  engage  him  in  their  favor ;  nothing  should  shake 
his  faith  to  his  English  brothers ;  and  it  will  be  found 
that  in  these  assurances  he  was  sincere. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

BETUEN  FBOM  VENANGO — A  TEAMP  ON  FOOT — MUEDEBING  TOWN — THE 
INDIAN  GUIDE — TEEAOHEBY — AN  ANXIOUS  NIGHT — PEBILS  ON  THE 
ALLEGANY  BIVEB — QUEEN  ALIQUIPPA— THE  OLD  WATCH-COAT — BE- 
TUEN  ACBOSS  THE  BLUE  EIDGE. 

On  the  25th  of  December,  Washington  and  his  little 
party  set  out  by  land  from  Venango  on  their  route 
homeward.  They  had  a  long  winter's  journey  before 
them,  through  a  wilderness  beset  with  dangers  and 
difficulties.  The  packhorses,  laden  with  tents,  bag- 
gage, and  provisions,  were  completely  jaded;  it  was 
feared  they  would  give  out.  Washington  dismounted, 
gave  up  his  saddle-horse  to  aid  in  transporting  the 
baggage,  and  requested  his  companions  to  do  the  same. 
None  but  the  drivers  remained  in  the  saddle.  He 
now  equipped  himself  in  an  Indian  hunting- dress,  and 
with  Van  Braam,  Gist,  and  John  Davidson,  the  Indian 
interpreter,  proceeded  on  foot. 

The  cold  increased.  There  was  deep  snow  that 
froze  £s  it  fell.  The  horses  grew  less  and  less  capable 
of  travelling.  For  three  days  they  toiled  on  slowly 
and  wearily.     Washington  was   impatient  to  accom- 


1753.]  A   TRAMP    ON    FOOT.  93 

plish  his  journey,  and  make  his  report  to  the  governor ; 
he  determined,  therefore,  to  hasten  some  distance  in 
advance  of  the  party,  and  then  strike  for  the  fork  of 
the  Ohio  by  the  nearest  course  directly  through  the 
woods.  He  accordingly  put  the  cavalcade  under  the 
command  of  Van  Braam,  and  furnished  him  with 
money  for  expenses  ;  then  disencumbering  himself  of 
all  superfluous  clothing,  buckling  himself  up  in  a 
watch-coat,  strapping  his  pack  on  his  shoulders,  con- 
taining his  papers  and  provisions,  and  taking  gun  in 
hand,  he  left  the  horses  to  flounder  on,  and  struck 
manfully  ahead,  accompanied  only  by  Mr.  Gist,  who 
had  equipped  himself  in  like  manner. 

At  night  they  lit  a  fire,  "  and  camped  "  by  it  in 
the  woods.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  were 
again  on  foot,  and  pressed  forward  until  they  struck 
the  south-east  fork  of  Beaver  Creek,  at  a  place  bearing 
the  sinister  name  of  Murdering  Town ;  probably  the 
scene  of  some  Indian  massacre. 

Here  Washington,  in  planning  his  route,  had  in- 
tended to  leave  the  regular  path,  and  strike  through 
the  woods  for  Shannopins  Town,  two  or  three  miles 
above  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  where  he  hoped  to  be  able 
to  cross  the  Allegany  River  on  the  ice. 

At  Murdering  Town  he  found  a  party  of  Indians, 
who  appeared  to  have  known  of  his  coming,  and  to 
have  been  waiting  for  him.  One  of  them  accosted  Mr. 
Gist,  and  expressed  great  joy  at  seeing  him.  The 
wary  woodsman  regarded  him  narrowly,  and  thought 
he  had  seen  him  at  Joncaire's.  If  so,  he  and  his  com- 
rades were  in  the  French  interest,  and  their  lying  in 
wait  boded  no  good.     The  Indian  was  very  curious  in 


94  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

his  inquiries  as  to  when  they  had  left  Venango ;  how 
they  came  to  be  travelling  on  foot ;  where  they  had  left 
their  horses,  and  when  it  was  probable  the  latter  would 
reach  this  place.  All  these  questions  increased  the 
distrust  of  Gist,  and  rendered  him  extremely  cautious 
in  reply. 

The  route  hence  to  Shannopins  Town  lay  through  a 
trackless  wild,  of  which  the  travellers  knew  nothing ; 
after  some  consultation,  therefore,  it  was  deemed  expe- 
dient to  engage  one  of  the  Indians  as  a  guide.  He 
entered  upon  his  duties  with  alacrity,  took  Washing- 
ton's pack  upon  his  back,  and  led  the  way  by  what  he 
said  was  the  most  direct  course.  After  travelling 
briskly  for  eight  or  ten  miles  Washington  became 
fatigued,  and  his  feet  were  chafed ;  he  thought,  too, 
they  were  taking  a  direction  too  much  to  the  north- 
east ;  he  came  to  a  halt,  therefore,  and  determined  to 
light  a  fire,  make  a  shelter  of  the  bark  and  branches  of 
trees,  and  encamp  there  for  the  night.  The  Indian 
demurred;  he  offered,  as  Washington  was  fatigued,  to 
carry  his  gun,  but  the  latter  was  too  wary  to  part  with 
his  weapon.  The  Indian  now  grew  churlish.  There 
were  Ottawa  Indians  in  the  woods,  he  said,  who  might 
be  attracted  by  their  fire,  and  surprise  and  scalp  them ; 
he  urged,  therefore,  that  they  should  continue  on :  he 
would  take  them  to  his  cabin,  where  they  would  be  safe. 
Mr.  Gist's  suspicions  increased,  but  he  said  no- 
thing. Washington's  also  were  awakened.  They  pro- 
ceeded some  distance  further :  the  guide  paused  and 
listened.  He  had  heard,  he  said,  the  report  of  a  gun 
toward  the  north ;  it  must  be  from  his  cabin ;  he  ac- 
cordingly turned  his  steps  in  that  direction. 


1753.]  THE   INDIAN    GUIDE.  95 

Washington  began  to  apprehend  an  ambuscade  of 
savages.  He  knew  the  hostility  of  many  of  them  to 
the  English,  and  what  a  desirable  trophy  was  the  scalp 
of  a  white  man.  The  Indian  still  kept  on  toward  the 
north ;  he  pretended  to  hear  two  whoops — they  were 
from  his  cabin — it  could  not  be  far  off. 

They  went  on  two  miles  further,  when  Washington 
signified  his  determination  to  encamp  at  the  first  water 
they  should  find.  The  guide  said  nothing  but  kept 
doggedly  on.  After  a  little  while  they  arrived  at  an 
opening  in  the  woods,  and  emerging  from  the  deep 
shadows  in  which  they  had  been  travelling,  found 
themselves  in  a  clear  meadow,  rendered  still  more  light 
by  the  glare  of  the  snow  upon  the  ground.  Scarcely  had 
they  emerged  when  the  Indian,  who  was  about  fifteen 
paces  ahead,  suddenly  turned,  levelled  his  gun,  and 
fired.  Washington  was  startled  for  an  instant,  but, 
feeling  that  he  was  not  wounded,  demanded  quickly 
of  Mr.  Gist  if  he  was  shot.  The  latter  answered  in  the 
negative.  The  Indian  in  the  mean  time  had  run  forward, 
and  screened  himself  behind  a  large  white  oak,  where 
he  was  reloading  his  gun.  They  overtook,  and  seized 
him.  Gist  would  have  put  him  to  death  on  the  spot, 
but  Washington  humanely  prevented  him.  They  per- 
mitted him  to  finish  the  loading  of  his  gun ;  but,  after 
he  had  put  in  the  ball,  took  the  weapon  from  him,  and 
let  him  see  that  he  Was  under  guard.  Arriving  at 
a  small  stream  they  ordered  the  Indian  to  make  a  fire, 
and  took  turns  to  watch  over  the  guns.  While  he  was 
thus  occupied,  Gist,  a  veteran  woodsman,  and  accus- 
tomed to  hold  the  life  of  an  Indian  rather  cheap,  was 
somewhat  incommoded  by  the  scruples  of  his  youthful 


96  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1753. 

commander,  which  might  enable  the  savage  to  carry 
out  some  scheme  of  treachery.  He  observed  to 
Washington  that,  since  he  could  not  suffer  the  Indian 
to  be  killed,  they  must  manage  to  get  him  out  of  the 
way,  and  then  decamp  with  all  speed,  and  travel  all 
night  to  leave  this  perfidious  neighborhood  behind 
them  ;  but  first  it  was  necessary  to  blind  the  guide  as 
to  their  intentions.  He  accordingly  addressed  him  in 
a  friendly  tone,  and  adverting  to  the  late  circumstance, 
pretended  to  suppose  that  he  had  lost  his  way,  and 
fired  his  gun  merely  as  a  signal.  The  Indian,  whether 
deceived  or  not,  readily  chimed  in  with  the  explanation. 
He  said  he  now  knew  the  way  to  his  cabin,  which 
was  at  no  great  distance.  "  Well  then,"  replied  Gist, 
"  you  can  go  home,  and  as  we  are  tired  we  will  remain 
here  for  the  night,  and  follow  your  track  at  daylight. 
In  the  mean  time  here  is  a  cake  of  bread  for  you,  and 
you  must  give  us  some  meat  in  the  morning." 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  original  designs  of 
the  savage,  he  was  evidently  glad  to  get  off.  Gist 
followed  him  cautiously  for  a  distance,  and  listened 
until  the  sound  of  his  footsteps  died  away ;  returning 
then  to  Washington,  they  proceeded  about  half  a  mile, 
made  another  fire,  set  their  compass  and  fixed  their 
course  by  the  light  of  it,  then  leaving  it  burning, 
pushed  forward,  and  travelled  as  fast  as  possible  all 
night,  so  as  to  gain  a  fair  start  should  any  one  pursue 
them  at  daylight.  Continuing  on  the  next  day  they 
never  relaxed  their  speed  until  nightfall,  when  they 
arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Allegany  River,  about  two 
miles  above  Shannopins  Town. 

Washington  had  expected  to  find  the  river  frozen 


1753.]  AN    ANXIOUS    NIGHT.  97 

completely  over ;  it  was  so  only  for  about  fifty  yards 
from  either  shore,  while  great  quantities  of  broken  ice 
were  driving  down  the  main  channel.  Trusting  that 
he  had  out-travelled  pursuit,  he  encamped  on  the 
border  of  the  river ;  still  it  was  an  anxious  night,  and 
he  was  up  at  daybreak  to  devise  some  means  of  reach- 
ing the  opposite  bank.  No  other  mode  presented  it- 
self than  by  a  raft,  and  to  construct  this  they  had  but 
one  poor  hatchet.  With  this  they  set  resolutely  to 
work  and  labored  all  day,  but  the  sun  went  down  be- 
fore their  raft  was  finished.  They  launched  it,  how- 
ever, and  getting  on  board,  endeavored  to  propel  it 
across  with  setting  poles.  Before  they  were  half  way 
over  the  raft  became  jammed  between  cakes  of  ice,  and 
they  were  in  imminent  peril.  Washington  planted  his 
pole  on  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  and  leaned  against  it 
with  all  his  might,  to  stay  the  raft  until  the  ice  should 
pass  by.  The  rapid  current  forced  the  ice  against  the 
pole  with  such  violence  that  he  was  jerked  into  the 
water,  where  it  was  at  least  ten  feet  deep,  and  onlj 
saved  himself  from  being  swept  away  and  drowned  hy 
catching  hold  of  one  of  the  raft  logs. 

It  was  now  impossible  with  all  their  exertions  to 
get  to  either  shore  ;  abandoning  the  raft  therefore,  they 
got  upon  an  island,  near  which  they  were  drifting. 
Here  they  passed  the  night  exposed  to  intense  cold, 
by  which  the  hands  and  feet  of  Mr.  Gist  were  frozen. 
In  the  morning  they  found  the  drift  ice  wedged  so 
closely  together,  that  they  succeeded  in  getting  from 
the  island  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  j  and  before 
night  were  in  comfortable  quarters  at  the  house  of 

VOL.  i. — 7 


98  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

Frazier,  the  Indian  trader,  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle 
Creek  on  the  Monongahela. 

Here  they  learned  from  a  war  party  of  Indians  that 
a  band  of  Ottawas,  a  tribe  in  the  interest  of  the 
French,  had  massacred  a  whole  family  of  whites  on  the 
banks  of  the  Great  Kanawha  River. 

At  Frazier's  they  were  detained  two  or  three  days 
endeavoring  to  procure  horses.  In  this  interval  Wash- 
ington had  again  occasion  to  exercise  Indian  diplomacy. 
About  three  miles  distant,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Youghiogeny  River,  dwelt  a  female  sachem,  Queen 
Aliquippa,  as  the  English  called  her,  whose  sovereign 
dignity  had  been  aggrieved  that  the  party,  on  their 
way  to  the  Ohio,  had  passed  near  her  royal  wigwam 
without  paying  their  respects  to  her. 

Aware  of  the  importance,  at  this  critical  juncture 
of  securing  the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  Washington 
availed  himself  of  the  interruption  of  his  journey,  to 
pay  a  visit  of  ceremony  to  this  native  princess.  What- 
ever anger  she  may  have  felt  at  past  neglect,  it  was 
readily  appeased  by  a  present  of  his  old  watch-coat ; 
and  her  good  graces  were  completely  secured  by  a 
bottle  of  rum,  which,  he  intimates,  appeared  •  to  be 
peculiarly  acceptable  to  her  majesty. 

Leaving  Frazier's  on  the  1st  of  January,  they 
arrived  on  the  2d  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Gist,  on  the 
Monongahela.  Here  they  separated,  and  Washington 
having  purchased  a  horse,  continued  his  homeward 
course,  passing  horses  laden  with  materials  and  stores 
for  the  fort  at  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  and  families  doing 
out  to  settle  there. 

Having  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  stopped  one 


1/54.J  TEST    OF    CHARACTER.  9S 

day  at  Belvoir  to  rest,  he  reached  Williamsburg  on  the 
16th  of  January,  where  he  delivered  to  Governoi 
Dinwiddie  the  letter  of  the  French  commandant,  and 
made  him  a  full  report  of  the  events  of  his  mission. 

We  have  been  minute  in  our  account  of  this  expedi- 
tion, as  it  was  an  early  test  and  development  of  the 
various  talents  and  characteristics  of  Washington. 

The  prudence,  sagacity,  resolution,  firmness,  and 
self-devotion  manifested  by  him  throughout ;  his  admi- 
rable tact  and  self-possession  in  treating  with  fickle 
savages  and  crafty  white  men ;  the  soldier's  eye  with 
which  he  had  noticed  the  commanding  and  defensible 
points  of  the  country,  and  every  thing  that  would  bear 
upon  military  operations;  and  the  hardihood  with 
which  he  had  acquitted  himself  during  a  wintry  tramp 
through  the  wilderness,  through  constant  storms  of 
rain  and  snow ;  often  sleeping  on  the  ground  without  a 
tent  in  the  open  air,  and  in  danger  from  treacherous  foes, 
— all  pointed  him  out,  not  merely  to  the  governor,  but 
to  the  public  at  large,  as  one  eminently  fitted,  notwith- 
standing his  youth,  for  important  trusts  involving  civil 
as  well  as  military  duties.  It  is  an  expedition  that 
may  be  considered  the  foundation  of  his  fortunes. 
From  that  moment  he  was  the  rising  hope  of  Virginia. 


CHAPTER   X. 

BEPLY  OP  THE  CHEVALIER  DE  ST.  PIEBRE — TRENT'S  MISSION  TO  TH8 
FEONTIEB — WASHINGTON  BEOEUITS  TBOOPS — DINWIDDIE  AND  THE 
HOUSE  OP  BURGESSES — INDEPENDENT  CONDUCT  OP  THE  VIRGINIANS 
— EXPEDIENTS  TO  GAIN  REOBUITS — JACOB  VAN  BBAAM  IN  SEBVICE — 
TOILFUL  MABCH  TO  WILLS'  OBEEK — 00NTBE0O2UB  AT  THE  POEK  OP  TnE 
OHIO — TBENT'S  BEFBACTORY  TROOPS. 

The  reply  of  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Pierre  was  such  as 
might  have  been  expected  from  that  courteous,  but 
wary  commander.  He  should  transmit,  he  said,  the 
letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  his  general,  the  Mar- 
quis du  Quesne,  "  to  whom, "  observed  he,  "  it  better 
belongs  than  to  me  to  set  forth  the  evidence  and  reality 
of  the  rights  of  the  king,  my  master,  upon  the  land  sit- 
uated along  the  river  Ohio,  and  to  contest  the  preten- 
sions of  the  king  of  Great  Britain  thereto.  His  an- 
swer shall  be  a  law  to  me.  *****  As  to  the 
summons  you  send  me  to  retire,  I  do  not  think  myself 
obliged  to  obey  it.  Whatever  may  be  your  instruc- 
tions, I  am  here  by  virtue  of  the  orders  of  my  general ; 
and  I  entreat  you,  sir,  not  to  doubt  one  moment  but 
that  I  am  determined  to  conform  myself  to  them  with 


1754.]      Trent's  mission  to  the  frontier.         101 

all  the  exactness  and  resolution  which  can  be  expected 
from  the  best  officer."  *  *  *  * 

"  I  made  it  my  particular  care,"  adds  he,  "  to  re- 
ceive Mr.  Washington  with  a  distinction  suitable  to 
your  dignity,  as  well  as  his  own  quality  and  great 
merit.  I  natter  myself  that  he  will  do  me  this  justice 
before  you,  sir,  and  that  he  will  signify  to  you,  in  the 
manner  I  do  myself,  the  profound  respect  with  which 
I  am,  sir,"  &c.  * 

This  soldierlike  and  punctilious  letter  of  the  cheva- 
lier was  considered  evasive,  and  only  intended  to  gain 
time.  The  information  given  by  Washington  of  what 
he  had  observed  on  the  frontier,  convinced  Governor 
Dinwiddie  and  his  council  that  the  French  were  pre- 
paring to  descend  the  Ohio  in  the  spring,  and  take  mil- 
itary possession  of  the  country.  Washington's  journal 
was  printed,  and  widely  promulgated  throughout  the 
colonies  and  England,  and  awakened  the  nation  to  a 
sense  of  the  impending  danger,  and  the  necessity  of 
prompt  measures  to  anticipate  the  French  movements. 

Captain  Trent  was  despatched  to  the  frontier,  com- 
missioned to  raise  a  company  of  one  hundred  men, 
march  with  all  speed  to  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  and 
finish  as  soon  as  possible  the  fort  commenced  there  by 
the  Ohio  Company.  He  was  enjoined  to  act  only  on 
the  defensive,  but  to  capture  or  destroy  whoever  should 
oppose  the  construction  of  the  works,  or  disturb  their 
settlements.  The  choice  of  Captain  Trent  for  this  ser- 
vice, notwithstanding  his  late  inefficient  expedition, 
was  probably  owing  to   his   being  brother-in-law  to 

*  London  Mag.,  June,  1754. 


102  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

George  Croghan,  who  had  grown  to  be  quite  a  person- 
age of  consequence  on  the  frontier,  where  he  had  an  es- 
tablishment or  trading-house,  and  was  supposed  to 
have  great  influence  among  the  western  tribes,  so  as  to 
be  able  at  any  time  to  persuade  many  of  them  to  take 
up  the  hatchet. 

Washington  was  empowered  to  raise  a  company  of 
like  force  at  Alexandria ;  to  procure  and  forward  mu- 
nitions and  supplies  for  the  projected  fort  at  the  fork, 
and  ultimately  to  have  command  of  both  companies. 
When  on  the  frontier  he  was  to  take  counsel  of  George 
Croghan  and  Andrew  Montour,  the  interpreter,  in  all 
matters  relating  to  the  Indians,  they  being  esteemed 
perfect  oracles  in  that  department. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  in  the  mean  time  called  upon 
the  governors  of  the  other  provinces  to  make  common 
cause  against  the  foe ;  he  endeavored,  also,  to  effect 
alliances  with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  south,  the  Cataw- 
bas  and  Cherokees,  by  way  of  counterbalancing  the 
Chippewas  and  Ottawas,  who  were  devoted  to  the 
French. 

The  colonies,  however,  felt  as  yet  too  much  like 
isolated  territories ;  the  spirit  of  union  was  wanting. 
Some  pleaded  a  want  of  military  funds;  some  ques- 
tioned the  justice  of  the  cause ;  some  declined  taking 
any  hostile  step  that  might  involve  them  in  a  war,  un- 
less they  should  have  direct  orders  from  the  crown. 

Dinwiddie  convened  the  House  of  Burgesses  to  de- 
vise measures  for  the  public  security.  Here  his  high 
idea  of  prerogative  and  of  gubernatorial  dignity  met 
with  a  grievous  countercheck  from  the  dawning  spirit  of 
independence.     High  as  were  the  powers  vested  in  the 


1754.]  DOUBTS    OF    THE    BURGESSES.  103 

colonial  government  of  Virginia,  of  which,  though  but 
lieutenant-governor,  he  had  the  actual  control ;  they 
were  counterbalanced  by  the  power  inherent  in  the 
people,  growing  out  of  their  situation  and  circumstan- 
ces, and  acting  through  their  representatives. 

There  was  no  turbulent  factious  opposition  to  gov- 
ernment in  Virginia ;  no  "  fierce  democracy,"  the  rank 
growth  of  crowded  cities,  and  a  fermenting  populace ; 
but  there  was  the  independence  of  men,  living  apart  in 
patriarchal  style  on  their  own  rural  domains ;  sur- 
rounded by  their  families,  dependants  and  slaves, 
among  whom  their  will  was  law, — and  there  was  the 
individuality  in  character  and  action  of  men  prone  to 
nurture  peculiar  notions  and  habits  of  thinking,  in  the 
thoughtful  solitariness  of  country  life. 

When  Dinwiddie  propounded  his  scheme  of  opera- 
tions on  the  Ohio,  some  of  the  burgesses  had  the  har- 
dihood to  doubt  the  claims  of  the  king  to  the  disputed 
territory ;  a  doubt  which  the  governor  reprobated  as 
savoring  strongly  of  a  most  disloyal  French  spirit ;  he 
fired,  as  he  says,  at  the  thought  "  that  an  English  leg- 
islature should  presume  to  doubt  the  right  of  his  maj- 
esty to  the  interior  parts  of  this  continent,  the  back 
part  of  his  dominions  !  " 

Others  demurred  to  any  grant  of  means  for  military 
purposes  which  might  be  construed  into  an  act  of  hos- 
tility. To  meet  this  scruple,  it  was  suggested  that  the 
grant  might  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging 
and  protecting  all  settlers  on  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. And  under  this  specious  plea,  ten  thousand 
pounds  were  grudgingly  voted ;  but  even  this  moder- 
ate sum  was  not  put  at  the  absolute  disposition  of  the 


104  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

governor.  A  committee  was  appointed,  with  whom 
he  was  to  confer  as  to  its  appropriation. 

This  precaution  Dinwiddie  considered  an  insulting 
invasion  of  the  right  he  possessed  as  governor,  to  con- 
trol the  purse  as  well  as  the  sword ;  and  he  complained 
bitterly  of  the  Assembly,  as  deeply  tinctured  with  a 
republican  way  of  thinking,  and  disposed  to  encroach 
on  the  prerogative  of  the  crown,  "which  he  feared 
would  render  them  more  and  more  difficult  to  be 
brought  to  order!' 

Ways  and  means  being  provided,  Governor  Din- 
widdie augmented  the  number  of  troops  to  be  enlisted 
to  three  hundred,  divided  into  six  companies.  The 
command  of  the  whole,  as  before,  was  offered  to  Wash- 
ington ;  but  he  shrank  from  it,  as  a  charge  too  great 
for  his  youth  and  inexperience.  It  was  given,  there- 
fore, to  Colonel  Joshua  Pry,  an  English  gentleman  of 
worth  and  education,  and  Washington  was  made  sec- 
ond in  command,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel. 

The  recruiting,  at  first,  went  on  slowly.  Those 
who  offered  to  enlist,  says  Washington,  were  for  the 
most  part  loose  idle  persons,  without  house  or  home, 
some  without  shoes  or  stockings,  some  shirtless,  and 
many  without  coat  or  waistcoat. 

He  was  young  in  the  recruiting  service,  or  he  would 
have  known  that  such  is  generally  the  stuff  of  which 
armies  are  made.  In  this  country  especially  it  has  al- 
ways been  difficult  to  enlist  the  active  yeomanry  by 
holding  out  merely  the  pay  of  a  soldier.  The  means 
of  subsistence  are  too  easily  obtained  by  the  industri- 
ous, for  them  to  give  up  home  and  personal  independ- 
ence for  a  mere  daily  support.     Some  may  be  tempted 


1754.J  RECRUITING   EXPEDIENTS.  105 

by  a  love  of  adventure ;  but,  in  general,  they  require 
some  prospect  of  ultimate  advantage  that  may  "better 
their  condition." 

Governor  Dinwiddie  became  sensible  of  this,  and 
resorted  to  an  expedient  rising  out  of  the  natural  re- 
source of  the  countiy,  which  has  since  been  frequently 
adopted,  and  always  with  efficacy.  He  proclaimed  a 
bounty  of  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  on  the 
Ohio  River,  to  be  divided  among  the  officers  and  soldiers 
who  should  engage  in  this  expedition ;  one  thousand 
to  be  laid  off  contiguous  to  the  fort  at  the  fork,  for  the 
use  of  the  garrison.  This  was  a  tempting  bait  to  the 
sons  of  farmers,  who  readily  enlisted  in  the  hope  of 
having,  at  the  end  of  a  short  campaign,  a  snug  farm  of 
their  own  in  this  land  of  promise. 

It  was  a  more  difficult  matter  to  get  officers  than 
soldiers.  Very  few  of  those  appointed  made  their  ap- 
pearance ;  one  of  the  captains  had  been  promoted ; 
two  declined;  Washington  found  himself  left,  almost 
alone,  to  manage  a  number  of  self-willed,  undisciplined 
recruits.  Happily  he  had  with  him,  in  the  rank  of 
lieutenant,  that  soldier  of  fortune,  Jacob  Van  Braam, 
his  old  "  master  of  fence,"  and  travelling  interpreter. 

In  his  emergency  he  forthwith  nominated  him  cap- 
tain, and  wrote  to  the  governor  to  confirm  the  ap- 
pointment, representing  him  as  the  oldest  lieutenant, 
and  an  experienced  officer. 

On  the  2d  of  April,  Washington  set  off  from  Alex- 
andria for  the  new  fort,  at  the  fork  of  the  Ohio.  He 
had  but  two  companies  with  him,  amounting  to  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men  ;  the  remainder  of  the  regi- 
ment was  to  follow  under  Colonel  Fry  with  the  artillery, 


106  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

which  was  to  be  conveyed  up  the  Potomac.  While  on 
the  march  he  was  joined  by  a  detachment  under  Cap- 
tain Adam  Stephens,  an  officer  destined  to  serve  with 
him  at  distant  periods  of  his  military  career. 

At  Winchester  he  found  it  impossible  to  obtain 
conveyances  by  gentle  means,  and  was  obliged  reluc- 
tantly to  avail  himself  of  the  militia  law  of  Virginia, 
and  impress  horses  and  waggons  for  service ;  giving  the 
owners  orders  on  government  for  their  appraised  value. 
Even  then,  out  of  a  great  number  impressed,  he  ob- 
tained but  ten,  after  waiting  a  week ;  these,  too,  were 
grudgingly  furnished  by  farmers  with  their  worst 
horses,  so  that  in  steep  and  difficult  passes  they  were 
incompetent  to  the  draught,  and  the  soldiers  had  con- 
tinually to  put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheels. 

Thus  slenderly  fitted  out,  Washington  and  his  little 
force  made  their  way  toilfully  across  the  mountains, 
having  to  prepare  the  roads  as  they  went  for  the  trans- 
portation of  the  cannon,  which  were  to  follow  on  with 
the  other  division  under  Colonel  Pry.  They  cheered 
themselves  with  the  thoughts  that  this  hard  work  would 
cease  wThen  they  should  arrive  at  the  company's  tra- 
ding-post and  storehouse  at  Wills'  Creek,  where  Cap- 
tain Trent  was  to  have  packhorses  in  readiness,  with 
which  they  might  make  the  rest  of  the  way  by  light 
stages.  Before  arriving  there,  they  were  startled  by  a 
rumor  that  Trent  and  all  his  men  had  been  captured 
by  the  French.  With  regard  to  Trent,  the  news  soon 
proved  to  be  false,  for  they  found  him  at  Wills'  Creek 
on  the  20th  of  April.  With  regard  to  his  men  there 
was  still  an  uncertainty.  lie  had  recently  left  them 
at  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  busily  at  work  on  the  fort,  un- 


1754.]  CATASTROPHE    AT    THE    FORT.  107 

der  the  command  of  his  lieutenant,  Frazier,  late  Indian 
trader  and  gunsmith,  but  now  a  provincial  officer.  If 
the  men  had  been  captured,  it  must  have  been  since 
the  captain's  departure.  Washington  was  eager  to 
press  forward  and  ascertain  the  truth,  but  it  was  im- 
possible. Trent,  inefficient  as  usual,  had  failed  to  pro- 
vide packhorses.  It  was  necessary  to  send  to  Win- 
chester, forty  miles  distant,  for  baggage  waggons,  and 
await  their  arrival.  All  uncertainty  as  to  the  fate  of 
the  men,  however,  was  brought  to  a  close  by  their  ar- 
rival, on  the  25th,  conducted  by  an  ensign,  and  bring- 
ing with  them  their  working  implements.  The  French 
might  well  boast  that  they  had  again  been  too  quick  for 
the  English.  Captain  Contrecoeur,  an  alert  officer,  had 
embarked  about  a  thousand  men  with  field-pieces,  in 
a  fleet  of  sixty  batteaux  and  three  hundred  canoes, 
dropped  down  the  river  from  Venango,  and  suddenly 
made  his  appearance  before  the  fort,  on  which  the  men 
were  working,  and  which  was  not  half  completed. 
Landing,  drawing  up  his  men,  and  planting  his  artil- 
lery, he  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender,  allowing  one 
hour  for  a  written  reply. 

What  w as  to  be  done  ?  the  whole  garrison  did  not 
exceed  fifty  men.  Captain  Trent  was  absent  at  Wills' 
Creek;  Frazier,  his  lieutenant,  was  at  his  own  resi- 
dence at  Turtle  Creek,  ten  miles  distant.  There  was 
no  officer  to  reply  but  a  young  ensign  of  the  name  of 
Ward.  In  his  perplexity,  he  turned  for  counsel  to 
Tanacharisson,  the  half-king,  who  was  present  in  the 
fort.  The  chief  advised  the  ensign  to  plead  insuffi- 
ciency of  rank  and  powers,  and  crave  delay  until  the 
arrival  of  his  superior  officer.     The  ensign  repaired  to 


108  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

the  French  camp  to  offer  this  excuse  in  pei-son,  and 
was  accompanied  by  the  half-king.  They  were  courte- 
ously received,  but  Contrecceur  was  inflexible.  There 
must  be  instant  surrender,  or  he  would  take  forcible 
possession.  All  that  the  ensign  could  obtain  was  per- 
mission to  depart  with  his  men,  taking  with  them  their 
working  tools.  The  capitulation  ended,  Contrecceur, 
with  true  French  gayety,  invited  the  ensign  to  sup  with 
him,  treated  him  with  the  utmost  politeness,  and 
wished  him  a  pleasant  journey,  as  he  set  off  the  next 
morning  with  his  men  laden  with  their  working  tools. 

Such  was  the  ensign's  story.  He  was  accompa- 
nied by  two  Indian  warriors,  sent  by  the  half-king  to 
ascertain  where  the  detachment  was,  what  was  its 
strength,  and  when  it  might  be  expected  at  the  Ohio. 
They  bore  a  speech  from  that  sachem  to  Washington, 
and  another,  with  a  belt  of  wampum  for  the  Governor 
of  Virginia.  In  these  he  plighted  his  steadfast  faith  to 
the  English,  and  claimed  assistance  from  his  brothers 
of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania. 

One  of  these  warriors  Washington  forwarded  on 
with  the  speech  and  wampum  to  Governor  Dinwiddie. 
The  other  he  prevailed  on  to  return  to  the  half-king, 
bearing  a  speech  from  him  addressed  to  the  "  sachems, 
warriors  of  the  Six  United  Nations,  Shannoahs  and 
Delawares,  our  friends  and  brethren."  In  this  he 
informed  them  that  he  was  on  the  advance  with  a  part 
of  the  army,  to  clear  the  road  for  a  greater  force 
coming  with  guns,  ammunition,  and  provisions ;  and 
he  invited  the  half-king  and  another  sachem  to  meet 
him  on  the  road  as  soon  as  possible  to  hold  a  council. 

In  fact,  his  situation  was  arduous  in  the  extreme. 


1754.]  INCREASING   DANGERS.  109 

Regarding  the  conduct  of  the  French  in  the  recent 
occurrence  an  overt  act  of  war,  he  found  himself  thrown 
with  a  handful  of  raw  recruits  far  on  a  hostile  frontier, 
in  the  midst  of  a  wilderness,  with  an  enemy  at  hand 
greatly  superior  in  number  and  discipline ;  provided 
with  artillery,  and  all  the  munitions  of  war,  and  with- 
in reach  of  constant  supplies  and  reinforcements. 
Beside  the  French  that  had  come  from  Venango,  he 
had  received  credible  accounts  of  another  party  ascend- 
ing the  Ohio ;  and  of  six  hundred  Chippewas  and 
Ottawas  marching  down  Scioto  Creek  to  join  the 
hostile  camp.  Still,  notwithstanding  the  accumulating 
danger,  it  would  not  do  to  fall  back,  nor  show  signs  of 
apprehension.  His  Indian  allies  in  such  case  might 
desert  him.  The  soldiery,  too,  might  grow  restless  and 
dissatisfied.  He  was  already  annoyed  by  Captain 
Trent's  men,  who,  having  enlisted  as  volunteers,  con- 
sidered themselves  exempt  from  the  rigor  of  martial 
law;  and  by  their  example  of  loose  and  refractory 
conduct,  threatened  to  destroy  the  subordination  of 
his  own  troops. 

In  this  dilemma  he  called  a  council  of  war,  in  which 
it  was  determined  to  proceed  to  the  Ohio  Company 
store-houses,  at  the  mouth  of  Redstone  Creek ;  fortify 
themselves  there,  and  wait  for  reinforcements.  Here 
they  might  keep  up  a  vigilant  watch  upon  the  enemy, 
and  get  notice  of  any  hostile  movement  in  time  for 
defence,  or  retreat;  and  should  they  be  reinforced 
sufficiently  to  enable  them  to  attack  the  fort,  they  could 
easily  drop  down  the  river  with  their  artillery. 

With  these  alternatives  in  view,  Washington  detached 
sixty  men   in   advance   to  make  a  road;  and  at  the 


110  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754 

same  time  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie  for  mortars 
and  grenadoes,  and  cannon  of  heavy  metal. 

Aware  that  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  was  in 
session,  and  that  the  Maryland  Assembly  would  also 
meet  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  he  wrote  directly  to 
the  governors  of  those  provinces,  acquainting  them  with 
the  hostile  acts  of  the  French,  and  with  his  perilous 
situation ;  and  endeavoring  to  rouse  them  to  co-opera- 
tion in  the  common  cause.  We  will  here  note  in 
advance  that  his  letter  was  laid  before  the  Legislature 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  a  bill  was  about  to  be  passed 
making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  king ;  but 
it  fell  through,  in  consequence  of  a  disagreement 
between  the  Assembly  and  the  governor  as  to  the 
mode  in  which  the  money  should  be  raised ;  and  so  no 
assistance  was  furnished  to  Washington  from  that 
quarter.  The  youthful  commander  had  here  a  foretaste, 
in  these  his  incipient  campaigns,  of  the  perils  and  per- 
plexities which  awaited  him  from  enemies  in  the  field, 
and  lax  friends  in  legislative  councils  in  the  grander 
operations  of  his  future  years.  Before  setting  off  for 
Redstone  Creek,  he  discharged  Trent's  refractory  men 
from  his  detachment,  ordering  them  to  await  Colonel 
Fry's  commands ;  they,  however,  in  the  true  spirit  of 
volunteers  from  the  backwoods,  dispersed  to  their 
several  homes. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  observe,  in  this  place,  that 
both  Captain  Trent  and  Lieutenant  Frazier  were  se- 
verely censured  for  being  absent  from  their  post  at  the 
time  of  f  the  French  summons.  "  Trent's  behavior," 
said  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
"  has  been  very  tardy,  and  has  convinced  the  world  of 


1754.]  TRENT   AND    ERAZIER   CENSURED.  Ill 

what  they  before  suspected — his  great  timidity.  Lieu- 
tenant Irazier,  though  not  altogether  blameless,  is 
much  more  excusable,  for  he  would  not  accept  of  the 
commission  until  he  had  a  promise  from  his  captain 
that  he  should  not  reside  at  the  fort,  nor  visit  it  above 
once  a  week,  or  as  he  saw  necessity."  In  fact,  Wash- 
ington subsequently  recommended  Erazier  for  the  office 
of  adjutant. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

MARCH  TO  THE  LITTLE  MEADOWS — RUMORS  FROM  THE  OHIO CORRE- 
SPONDENCE FKOM  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  TOTJGHIOGENY — ATTEMPT  TO  DE- 
SCEND THAT  RIVER — ALARMING  REPORTS SCOUTING  PARTIES — PERIL- 
OUS SITUATION  OF  TnE   CAMP — GIST  AND  LA  FORCE — MESSAGE  FROM 

THE     nALF-KING FRENCH    TRACKS — THE     JUMONVILLE     SKIRMISH — 

TREATMENT  OF  LA  FORCE — POSITION  AT  TnE  GREAT  MEADOWS — BEL- 
LIGERENT FEELINGS  OF  A  YOUNG  SOLDIER. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  Washington  set  ont  for  Wills' 
Creek,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men. 
He  soon  overtook  those  sent  in  advance  to  work  the 
road ;  they  had  made  but  little  progress.  It  was  a 
difficult  task  to  break  a  road  through  the  wilderness 
sufficient  for  the  artillery  coming  on  with  Colonel  Fry's 
division.  All  hands  were  now  set  to  work,  but  with 
all  their  labor  they  could  not  accomplish  more  than 
four  miles  a  day.  They  were  toiling  through  Savage 
Mountain  and  that  dreary  forest  region  beyond  it,  since 
bearing  the  sinister  name  of  "  The  Shades  of  Death." 
On  the  9th  of  May  they  were  not  further  than  twenty 
miles  from  Wills'  Creek,  at  a  place  called  the  Little 
Meadows. 


1754. J  RUMORS    FROM    THE    OHIO.  113 

Every  day  came  gloomy  accounts  from  the  Ohio ; 
brought  chiefly  by  traders,  who,  with  packhorses  bear- 
ing their  effects,  were  retreating  to  the  more  settled 
parts  of  the  country.  Some  exaggerated  the  number 
of  the  French,  as  if  strongly  reinforced.  All  represent- 
ed them  as  diligently  at  work  constructing  a  fort.  By 
their  account,  Washington  perceived  the  French  had 
chosen  the  very  place  which  he  had  noted  in  his  jour- 
nal as  best  fitted  for  the  purpose. 

One  of  the  traders  gave  information  concerning 
La  Force,  the  French  emissary  who  had  beset  Wash- 
ington when  on  his  mission  to  the  frontier,  and  acted, 
as  he  thought,  the  part  of  a  spy.  He  had  been  at 
Gist's  new  settlement,  beyond  Laurel  Hill,  and  was 
prowling  about  the  country  with  four  soldiers  at  his 
heels  on  a  pretended  hunt  after  deserters.  Washing- 
ton suspected  him  to  be  on  a  reconnoitering  expedition. 

It  was  reported,  moreover,  that  the  French  were 
lavishing  presents  on  the  Indians  about  the  lower  part 
of  the  river,  to  draw  them  to  their  standard.  Among 
all  these  flying  reports  and  alarms,  Washington  was 
gratified  to  learn  that  the  half-king  was  on  his  way  tc 
meet  him  at  the  head  of  fifty  warriors. 

After  infinite  toil  through  swamps  and  forests,  and 
over  rugged  mountains,  the  detachment  arrived  at  the 
Youghiogeny  River,  where  they  were  detained  some  days 
constructing  a  bridge  to  cross  it. 

This  gave  Washington  leisure  to  correspond  with 
Governor  Dinwiddie,  concerning  matters  which  had 
deeply  annoyed  him.  By  an  ill-judged  economy  of  the 
Virginia  government  at  this  critical  juncture,  its  pro- 
vincial officers  received  less  pay  than  that  allowed  in 

VOL.    I. 8 


114  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754 

the  regular  army.  It  is  true  the  regular  officers  were 
obliged  to  furnish  their  own  table,  but  their  superior 
pay  enabled  them  to  do  it  luxuriously ;  whereas  the 
provincials  were  obliged  to  do  hard  duty  on  salt  provi- 
sions and  water.  The  provincial  officers  resented  this 
inferiority  of  pay  as  an  indignity,  and  declared  that 
nothing  prevented  them  from  throwing  up  their  com- 
missions but  unwillingness  to  recede  before  approach- 
ing danger. 

Washington  shared  deeply  this  feeling.  "  Let  him 
serve  voluntarily,  and  he  would  with  the  greatest  plea- 
sure in  life  devote  his  services  to  the  expedition — but 
to  be  slaving  through  woods,  rocks,  and  mountains,  for 
the  shadow  of  pay — "  writes  he,  "I  would  rather  toil 
like  a  day  laborer  for  a  maintenance,  if  reduced  to  the 
necessity,  than  serve  on  such  ignoble  terms.,,  Parity  of 
pay  was  indispensable  to  the  dignity  of  the  service. 

Other  instances  of  false  economy  were  pointed  out 
by  him,  forming  so  many  drags  upon  the  expedition, 
that  he  quite  despaired  of  success.  "  Be  the  conse- 
quence what  it  will,  however,"  adds  he,  "  I  am  deter- 
mined not  to  leave  the  regiment,  but  to  be  among  the 
last  men  that  leave  the  Ohio ;  even  if  I  serve  as  a  pri- 
vate volunteer,  which  I  greatly  prefer  to  the  establish- 
ment we  are  upon.  *  *  *  *  I  have  a  constitu- 
tion hardy  enough  to  encounter  and  undergo  the  most 
severe  trials,  and  I  natter  myself  resolution  to  face  what 
any  man  dares,  as  shall  be  proved  when  it  comes  to 
the  test." 

And  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Colonel  Fairfax — "  For 
my  own  part,"  writes  he,  "  it  is  a  matter  almost  indif- 
ferent whether  I  serve  for  full  pay  or  as  a  generous  vol- 


1754.]      Washington's  motives  of  action.         115 

unteer ;  indeed,  did  my  circumstances  correspond  with 
my  inclinations,  I  should  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  pre- 
fer the  latter ;  for  the  motives  that  have  led  me  here  are 
pure  and  noble,  I  had  no  view  of  acquisition  but  that 
of  honor,  by  serving  faithfully  my  Icing  and  country!' 

Such  were  the  noble  impulses  of  Washington  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  and  such  continued  to  actuate  him 
throughout  life.  We  have  put  the  latter  part  of  the 
quotation  in  italics,  as  applicable  to  the  motives  which 
in  after  life  carried  him  into  the  Revolution. 

While  the  bridge  over  the  Youghiogeny  was  in  the 
course  of  construction,  the  Indians  assured  Washing- 
ton he  would  never  be  able  to  open  a  waggon-road 
across  the  mountains  to  Redstone  Creek ;  he  embarked 
therefore  in  a  canoe  with  a  lieutenant,  three  soldiers, 
and  an  Indian  guide,  to  try  whether  it  was  possible  to 
descend  the  river.  They  had  not  descended  above  ten 
miles  before  the  Indian  refused  to  go  further.  Wash- 
ington soon  ascertained  the  reason.  "  Indians,"  said 
he,  "expect  presents — nothing  can  be  done  without 
them.  The  French  take  this  method.  If  you  want 
one  or  more  to  conduct  a  party,  to  discover  the  coun- 
try, to  hunt,  or  for  any  particular  purpose,  they  must 
be  bought;  their  friendship  is  not  so  warm  as  to 
prompt  them  to  these  services  gratis."  The  Indian 
guide,  in  the  present  instance,  was  propitiated  by  the 
promise  of  one  of  Washington's  ruffled  shirts  and  a 
watch-coat. 

The  river  was  bordered  by  mountains  and  obstruct- 
ed by  rocks  and  rapids.  Indians  might  thread  such  a 
labyrinth  in  their  light  canoes,  but  it  would  never  ad- 
mit the  transportation  of  troops  and  military  stores. 


116  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

Washington  kept  on  for  thirty  miles,  until  he  came 
to  a  place  where  the  river  fell  nearly  forty  feet  in  the 
space  of  fifty  yards.  There  he  ceased  to  explore,  and 
returned  to  camp,  resolving  to  continue  forward  by 
land. 

On  the  23d  Indian  scouts  brought  word  that  the 
French  were  not  above  eight  hundred  strong,  and  that 
about  half  their  number  had  been  detached  at  night  on 
a  secret  expedition.  Close  upon  this  report  came  a 
message  from  the  half-king,  addressed  "  to  the  first  of 
his  majesty's  officers  whom  it  may  concern.,, 

"  It  is  reported,"  said  he,  "  that  the  French  army 
is  coming  to  meet  Major  Washington.  Be  on  your 
guard  against  them,  my  brethren,  for  they  intend  to 
strike  the  first  English  they  shall  see.  They  have  been 
on  their  march  two  days.  I  know  not  their  number. 
The  half-king  and  the  rest  of  the  chiefs  will  be  with 
you  in  five  days  to  hold  a  council." 

In  the  evening  Washington  was  told  that  the 
French  were  crossing  the  ford  of  the  Youghiogeny 
about  eighteen  miles  distant.  He  now  hastened  to  take 
a  position  in  a  place  called  the  Great  Meadows,  where 
he  caused  the  bushes  to  be  cleared  away,  made  an  in- 
trenchment,  and  prepared  what  he  termed  "  a  charm- 
ing field  for  an  encounter."  A  party  of  scouts  were 
mounted  on  waggon  horses,  and  sent  out  to  recon- 
noitre. They  returned  without  having  seen  an  enemy. 
A  sensitiveness  prevailed  in  the  camp.  They  were 
surrounded  by  forests,  threatened  by  unseen  foes,  and 
hourly  in  danger  of  surprise.  There  was  an  alarm 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  night.  The  sentries  fired 
upon  what  they  took  to  be  prowling  foes.     The  troops 


1754.]  LURKING   FOES.  117 

sprang  to  arms,  and  remained  on  the  alert  until  day- 
break. Not  an  enemy  was  to  be  seen.  The  roll  was 
called.     Six  men  were  missing,  who  had  deserted. 

On  the  25th  Mr.  Gist  arrived  from  his  place,  about 
fifteen  miles  distant.  La  Force  had  been  there  at  noon 
on  the  previous  day,  with  a  detachment  of  fifty  men, 
and  Gist  had  since  come  upon  their  track  within  five 
miles  of  the  camp.  Washington  considered  La  Force 
a  bold,  enterprising  man,  subtle  and  dangerous ;  one 
to  be  particularly  guarded  against.  He  detached  sev- 
enty-five men  in  pursuit  of  him  and  his  prowling  band. 

About  nine  o'clock  at  night  came  an  Indian  mes- 
senger from  the  half-king,  who  was  encamped  with 
several  of  his  people  about  six  miles  off.  The  chief 
had  seen  tracks  of  two  Frenchmen,  and  was  convinced 
their  whole  body  must  be  in  ambush  near  by. 

Washington  considered  this  the  force  which  had 
been  hovering  about  him  for  several  days,  and  deter- 
mined to  forestall  their  hostile  designs.  Leaving  a 
guard  with  the  baggage  and  ammunition,  he  set  out 
before  ten  o'clock,  with  forty  men,  to  join  his  Indian 
ally.  They  groped  their  way  in  single  file,  by  footpaths 
through  the  woods,  in  a  heavy  rain  and  murky  dark- 
ness, tripping  occasionally  and  stumbling  over  each 
other,  sometimes  losing  the  track  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes,  so  that  it  was  near  sunrise  when  they  reached 
the  camp  of  the  half-king. 

That  chieftain  received  the  youthful  commander 
with  great  demonstrations  of  friendship,  and  engaged 
to  go  hand  in  hand  with  him  against  the  lurking  ene- 
my. He  set  out  accordingly,  accompanied  by  a  few 
of  his  warriors  and  his  associate  sachem  Scarooyadi,  or 


118  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754 

Monacatoocha,  and  conducted  Washington  to  the  tracks 
which  he  had  discovered.  Upon  these  he  put  two  of 
his  Indians.  They  followed  them  up  like  hounds,  and 
brought  back  word  that  they  had  traced  them  to  a  low 
bottom,  surrounded  by  rocks  and  trees,  where  the 
Trench  were  encamped,  having  built  a  few  cabins  for 
shelter  from  the  rain. 

A  plan  was  now  concerted  to  come  upon  them  by  sur- 
prise :  Washington  with  his  men  on  the  right  ;  the  half- 
king  with  his  warriors  on  the  left ;  all  as  silently  as 
possible.  Washington  was  the  first  upon  the  ground. 
As  he  advanced  from  among  the  rocks  and  trees  at  the 
head  of  his  men,  the  French  caught  sight  of  him  and 
ran  to  their  arms.  A  sharp  firing  instantly  took  place, 
and  was  kept  up  on  both  sides  for  about  fifteen 
minutes.  Washington  and  his  party  were  most  ex- 
posed, and  received  all  the  enemy's  fire.  The  balls 
whistled  around  him;  one  man  was  killed  close  by 
him,  and  three  others  wounded.  The  French  at  length 
having  lost  several  of  their  number,  gave  way  and  ran. 
They  were  soon  overtaken  ;  twenty-one  were  captured, 
and  but  one  escaped,  a  Canadian,  who  carried  the  ti- 
dings of  the  affair  to  the  fort  on  the  Ohio.  The  In- 
dians would  have  massacred  the  prisoners  had  not 
Washington  prevented  them.  Ten  of  the  French  had 
fallen  in  the  skirmish,  and  one  been  wounded.  Wash- 
ington's loss  was  the  one  killed  and  three  wounded 
which  we  have  mentioned.  He  had  been  in  the  hottest 
fire,  and  having  for  the  first  time  heard  balls  whistle 
about  him,  considered  his  escape  miraculous.  Jumon- 
ville,  the  French  leader,  had  been  shot  through  the 
head  at  the  first  fire.     He  was  a  young  officer  of  merit, 


1754.]  SKIRMISH    WITH    JUMONVILLE.  119 

and  his  fate  was  made  the  subject  of  lamentation  in 
prose  and  verse — chiefly  through  political  motives. 

Of  the  twenty-one  prisoners,  the  two  most  impor- 
tant were  an  officer  of  some  consequence  named  Dron- 
illon,  and  the  subtle  and  redoubtable  La  Force.  As 
Washington  considered  the  latter  an  arch  mischief- 
maker,  he  was  rejoiced  to  have  him  in  his  power.  La 
Force  and  his  companion  would  fain  have  assumed  the 
sacred  character  of  ambassadors,  pretending  they  were 
coming  with  a  summons  to  him  to  depart  from  the 
territories  belonging  to  the  crown  of  France. 

Unluckily  for  their  pretensions,  a  letter  of  instruc- 
tions, found  on  Jumonville,  betrayed  their  real  errand, 
which  w^as  to  inform  themselves  of  the  roads,  rivers, 
and  other  features  of  the  countiy  as  far  as  the  Poto- 
mac ;  to  send  back  from  time  to  time,  by  fleet  messen- 
gers, all  the  information  they  could  collect,  and  to  give 
word  of  the  day  on  which  they  intended  to  serve  the 
summons.  Their  conduct  had  been  conformable.  In- 
stead of  coining  in  a  direct  and  open  manner  to  his 
encampment,  when  they  had  ascertained  where  it  was, 
and  delivering  their  summons,  as  they  would  have  done 
had  their  designs  been  frank  and  loyal,  they  had  moved 
back  two  miles,  to  one  of  the  most  secret  retirements, 
better  for  a  deserter  than  an  ambassador  to  encamp  in, 
and  staid  there  within  five  miles  of  his  camp,  sending 
spies  to  reconnoitre  it,  and  despatching  messengers  to 
Contrecceur  to  inform  him  of  its  position  and  numerical 
strength,  to  the  end,  no  doubt,  that  he  might  send  a  suffi- 
cient detachment  to  enforce  the  summons  as  soon  as  it 
should  be  given.  In  fact,  the  footprints  which  had 
first  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  French  lurking-plrxo, 


120  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

were  those  of  two  "  runners,"  or  swift  messengers,  sent, 
by  Jumonville  to  the  fort  on  the  Ohio. 

It  wrould  seem  that  La  Force,  after  all,  was  but  an 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  his  commanding  officers, 
and  not  in  their  full  confidence ;  for  when  the  commis- 
sion and  instructions  found  on  Jumonville  were  read 
before  him,  he  professed  not  to  have  seen  them  before, 
and  acknowledged,  with  somewhat  of  an  air  of  ingen- 
uousness, that  he  believed  they  had  a  hostile  tendency.* 

Upon  the  whole,  it  was  the  opinion  of  Washington 
and  his  officers  that  the  summons,  on  which  so  much 
stress  was  laid,  was  a  mere  specious  pretext  to  mask 
their  real  designs,  and  be  used  as  occasion  might 
require.  "  That  they  were  spies  rather  than  any  thing 
else,"  and  were  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war. 

The  half-king  joined  heartily  in  this  opinion  ;  indeed 
had  the  fate  of  the  prisoners  been  in  his  hands,  neither 
diplomacy  nor  any  thing  else  would  have  been  of  avail. 
"They  came  with  hostile  intentions,"  he  said;  "they 
had  bad  hearts,  and  if  his  English  brothers  were  so 
foolish  as  to  let  them  go,  he  would  never  aid  in  taking 
another  Frenchman." 

The  prisoners  were  accordingly  conducted  to  the 
camp  at  the  Great  Meadows,  and  sent  on  the  following 
day  (29th),  under  a  strong  escort,  to  Governor  Din- 
widdie,  then  at  Winchester.  Washington  had  treated 
them  with  great  courtesy;  had  furnished  Drouillon 
and  La  Force  with  clothing  from  his  own  scanty  stock, 
and,  at  their  request,  given  them  letters  to  the  gov- 
ernor, bespeaking  for  them  "  the  respect  and  favor  due 
to  their  character  and  personal  merit." 

*  Washington's  letter  to  Dinwiddle,  29th  May,  1754.  - 


1754.]  TREATMENT    OF    PRISONERS.  121 

A  sense  of  duty,  however,  obliged  him,  in  his  gen- 
eral despatch,  to  put  the  governor  on  his  guard  against 
La  Force.  "  I  really  think,  if  released,  he  would  do 
more  to  our  disservice  than  fifty  other  men,  as  he  is  a 
person  whose  active  spirit  leads  him  into  all  parties, 
and  has  brought  him  acquainted  with  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Add  to  this  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  In- 
dian tongue,  and  great  influence  with  the  Indians." 

After  the  departure  of  the  prisoners,  he  wrote  again 
respecting  them :  "I  have  still  stronger  presumption, 
indeed  almost  confirmation,  that  they  were  sent  as 
spies,  and  were  ordered  to  wait  near  us  till  they  were 
fully  informed  of  our  intentions,  situation,  and  strength, 
and  were  to  have  acquainted  their  commander  there- 
with, and  to  have  been  lurking  here  for  reinforcements 
before  they  served  the  summons,  if  served  at  all. 

"I  doubt  not  but  they  will  endeavor  to  amuse  you 
with  many  smooth  stories,  as  they  did  me ;  but  they 
were  confuted  in  them  all,  and,  by  circumstances  too 
plain  to  be  denied,  almost  made  ashamed  of  their  as- 
sertions. 

"I  have  heard  since  they  went  away,  they  should 
say  they  called  on  us  not  to  fire ;  but  that  I  know  to 
be  false,  for  I  was  the  first  man  that  approached  them, 
and  the  first  whom  they  saw,  and  immediately  they 
ran  to  their  arms,  and  fired  briskly  till  they  were  de- 
feated." *  *  *  *  "I  fancy  they  will  have  the 
assurance  of  asking  the  privileges  due  to  an  embassy, 
when  in  strict  justice  they  ought  to  be  hanged  as  spies 
of  the  worst  sort." 

The  situation  of  Washington  was  now  extremely 
perilous.     Contrecoeur,  it  was  said,  had  nearly  a  thou- 


122  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

sand  men  with  him  at  the  fort,  beside  Indian  allies ; 
and  reinforcements  were  on  the  wTay  to  join  him.  The 
messengers  sent  by  Jumonville,  previous  to  the  late  af- 
fair, must  have  apprised  him  of  the  weakness  of  the 
encampment  on  the  Great  Meadows.  Washington 
hastened  to  strengthen  it.  He  wrote  by  express  also 
to  Colonel  Fry,  who  lay  ill  at  Wills'  Creek,  urging  in- 
stant reinforcements ;  but  declaring  his  resolution  to 
"  fight  with  very  unequal  numbers  rather  than  give  up 
one  inch  of  what  he  had  gained. " 

The  half-king  wTas  full  of  fight.  He  sent  the  scalps 
of  the  Frenchmen  slain  in  the  late  skirmish,  accompa- 
nied by  black  wampum  and  hatchets,  to  all  his  allies, 
summoning  them  to  take  up  arms  and  join  him  at 
Redstone  Creek,  "  for  their  brothers  the  English  had 
now  begun  in  earnest."  It  is  said  he  would  even  have 
sent  the  scalps  of  the  prisoners  had  not  Washington 
interfered.*  He  went  off  for  his  home,  promising  to 
send  down  the  river  for  all  the  Mingoes  and  Shawnees, 
and  to  be  back  at  the  camp  on  the  30th,  with  thirty 
or  forty  warriors,  accompanied  by  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren. To  assist  him  in  the  transportation  of  his  people 
and  their  effects  thirty  men  were  detached,  and  twenty 
horses. 

"  I  shall  expect  every  hour  to  be  attacked,"  writes 
Washington  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  on  the  29th,  "  and 
by  unequal  numbers,  which  I  must  withstand,  if  there 
are  five  to  one,  for  I  fear  the  consequence  will  be  that 
we  shall  lose  the  Indians  if  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be 
driven  back.     Your  honor  may  depend  I  will  not  be 

*  Letter  from  Virginia. — London  Mag.,  1754. 


1754.]  MILITARY    EXCITEMENT.  123 

surprised,  let  them  come  at  what  hour  they  will,  and 
this  is  as  much  as  I  can  promise ;  but  my  best  endea- 
vors shall  not  be  wanting  to  effect  more.  I  doubt  not 
if  you  hear  I  am  beaten,  but  you  will  hear  at  the  same 
time  that  we  have  done  our  duty  in  fighting  as  long  as 
there  is  a  shadow  of  hope." 

The  fact  is,  that  Washington  was  in  a  high  state  of 
military  excitement.  He  was  a  young  soldier;  had 
been  for  the  first  time  in  action,  and  been  successful. 
The  letters  we  have  already  quoted  show,  in  some 
degree,  the  fervor  of  his  mind,  and  his  readiness  to 
brave  the  worst ;  but  a  short  letter,  written  to  one  of 
his  brothers,  on  the  31st,  lays  open  the  recesses  of  his 
heart. 

"  We  expect  every  hour  to  be  attacked  by  superior 
force ;  but  if  they  forbear  but  one  day  longer  we  shall 
be  prepared  for  them.  *  *  *  *  We  have  al- 
ready got  intrenchments,  and  are  about  a  palisade, 
which,  I  hope,  will  be  finished  to-day.  The  Min- 
goes  have  struck  the  French,  and,  I  hope,  will  give  a 
good  blow  before  they  have  done.  I  expect  forty  odd 
of  them  here  to-night,  which,  with  our  fort,  and  some 
reinforcements  from  Colonel  Fry,  will  enable  us  to  ex- 
ert our  noble  courage  with  spirit." 

Alluding  in  a  postscript  to  the  late  affair,  he  adds : 
"I  fortunately  escaped  w;thout  any  wound;  for  the 
right  wing,  where  1  stood,  was  exposed  to,  and  received, 
all  the  enemy's  fire ;  and  it  was  the  part  where  the 
man  was  killed  and  the  rest  wounded.  I  heard  the 
bullets  whistle,  and,  believe  me,  there  is  something 
charming  in  the  sound!' 

This  rodomontade,  as  Horace  Walpole  terms   it 


124  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754, 

reached  the  ears  of  George  II.  "  He  would  not  say  so," 
observed  the  king,  dryly,  "  if  he  had  been  used  to  hear 
many."* 

Washington  himself  thought  so  when  more  expe- 
rienced in  warfare.  Being  asked,  many  years  after- 
wards, whether  he  really  had  made  such  a  speech 
about  the  whistling  of  bullets,  "  If  I  said  so,"  replied 
he  quietly,  "  it  was  when  I  was  young."f  He  was, 
indeed,  but  twenty-two  years  old  when  he  said  it ;  it 
was  just  after  his  first  battle ;  he  was  flushed  with  suc- 
cess, and  was  writing  to  a  brother. 

*  This  anecdote  has  hitherto  rested  on  the  authority  of  Horace  Wal- 
pole,  who  gives  it  in  his  memoirs  of  George  II.,  and  in  his  correspondence. 
Pie  cites  the  rodomontade  as  contained  in  the  express  despatched  by  Wash- 
ington, whom  he  pronounces  a  "brave  braggart."  As  no  despatch  of 
Washington  contains  any  rodomontade  of  the  kind;  as  it  is  quite  at  vari- 
ance with  the  general  tenor  of  his  character ;  and  as  Horace  Walpole  is 
well  known  to  have  been  a  "  great  gossip  dealer,"  apt  to  catch  up  any  idle 
rumor  that  would  give  piquancy  to  a  paragraph,  the  story  has  been  held 
in  great  distrust.  We  met  with  the  letter  recently,  however,  in  a  column 
of  the  London  Magazine  for  1754,  page  370,  into  which  it  must  hare  found 
its  way  not  long  after  it  was  written. 

f  Gordon,  Hist.  Am.  War,  vol.  ii.,  p.  203. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

80 AE CITY  IN  THE  CAMP — DEATH  OF  COLONEL  FRY — PROMOTIONS — MACKAY 
AND  HIS  INDEPENDENT  COMPANY — MAJOR  MUSE — INDIAN  CEREMONIALS 
— PUBLIC  PRAYERS  IN  CAMP — ALARMS — INDEPENDENCE  OF  AN  INDE- 
PENDENT COMPANY — AFFAIRS  AT  THE  GREAT  MEADOWS — DESERTION 
OF  THE  INDIAN  ALLIES — CAPITULATION  OF  FORT  NECESSITY — VAN 
BRAAM  AS  AN  INTERPRETER — INDIAN  PLUNDERERS — RETURN  TO  WIL- 
LIAMSBURG— VOTE  OF  THANES  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  BURGESSES — SUBSE- 
QUENT FORTUNES  OF  THE  HALF-KING COMMENTS  ON  THE  AFFAIR  OF 

JUMONVILLE  AND  THE  CONDUCT  OF  VAN  BRAAM. 

Scarcity  began  to  prevail  in  the  camp.  Contracts 
had  been  made  with  George  Croghan  for  flour,  of 
which  he  had  large  quantities  at  his  frontier  establish- 
ment ;  for  he  was  now  trading  with  the  army  as  well 
as  with  the  Indians.  None,  however,  made  its  appear- 
ance. There  was  mismanagement  in  the  commissariat. 
At  one  time  the  troops  were  six  days  without  flour ; 
and  even  then  had  only  a  casual  supply  from  an  Ohio 
trader.  In  this  time  of  scarcity  the  half-king,  his  fel- 
low sachem,  Scarooyadi,  and  thirty  or  forty  warriors, 
arrived,  bringing  with  them  their  wives  and  children 
—so  many  more  hungry  mouths  to  be  supplied. 
Washington  wrote  urgently  to  Croghan  to  send  for- 
ward all  the  flour  he  could  furnish. 


126  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

News  came  of  the  death  of  Colonel  Fry  at  Wills' 
Creek,  and  that  he  was  to  be  succeeded  in  the  com- 
mand of  the  expedition  by  Colonel  Innes  of  North 
Carolina,  who  was  actually  at  Winchester  with  three 
hundred  and  fifty  North  Carolina  troops.  Washing- 
ton, who  felt  the  increasing  responsibilities  and  difficul- 
ties of  his  situation,  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  being 
under  the  command  of  an  experienced  officer,  who  had 
served  in  company  with  his  brother  Lawrence  at  the 
siege  of  Carthagena.  The  colonel,  however,  never  came 
to  the  camp,  nor  did  the  North  Carolina  troops  render 
any  service  in  the  campaign — the  fortunes  of  which 
might  otherwise  have  been  very  different. 

By  the  death  of  Pry,  the  command  of  the  regiment 
devolved  on  Washington.  Finding  a  blank  major's 
commission  among  Fry's  papers,  he  gave  it  to  Captain 
Adam  Stephens,  who  had  conducted  himself  with  spirit. 
As  there  would  necessarily  be  other  changes,  he  wrote 
to  Governor  Dinwiddie  in  behalf  of  Jacob  Van  Braam. 
"  He  has  acted  as  captain  ever  since  we  left  Alexan- 
dria. He  is  an  experienced  officer,  and  worthy  of  the 
command  he  has  enjoyed." 

The  palisaded  fort  was  now  completed,  and  was 
named  Fort  Necessity,  from  the  pinching  famine  that 
had  prevailed  during  its  construction.  The  scanty 
force  in  camp  was  augmented  to  three  hundred,  by  the 
arrival  from  Wills'  Creek  of  the  men  who  had  been  un- 
der Colonel  Fry.  With  them  came  the  surgeon  of  the 
regiment,  Dr.  James  Craik,  a  Scotchman  by  birth, 
and  one  destined  to  become  a  faithful  and  confidential 
friend  of  Washington  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

A  letter  from  Governor  Dinwiddie  announced,  how- 


1754.J  INDEPENDENT    COMPANIES.  127 

ever,  that  Captain  Mackay  would  soon  arrive  with  an 
independent  company,  of  one  hundred  men,  from  South 
Carolina. 

The  title  of  independent  company  had  a  sound  omi- 
nous of  trouble.  Troops  of  the  kind  raised  in  the  col- 
onies, under  direction  of  the  governors,  were  paid  by 
the  crown,  and  the  officers  had  king's  commissions ; 
such,  doubtless,  had  Captain  Mackay.  "  I  should  have 
been  particularly  obliged,"  writes  Washington  to  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie,  "  if  you  had  declared  whether  he  was 
under  my  command,  or  independent  of  it.  I  hope  he 
will  have  more  sense  than  to  insist  upon  any  unrea- 
sonable distinction,  because  he  and  his  officers  have 
commissions  from  his  majesty.  Let  him  consider, 
though  we  are  greatly  inferior  in  respect  to  advantages 
of  profit,  yet  we  have  the  same  spirit  to  serve  our  gra- 
cious king  as  they  have,  and  are  as  ready  and  willing 
to  sacrifice  our  lives  for  our  country's  good.  And 
here,  once  more,  and  for  the  last  time,  I  must  say,  that 
it  will  be  a  circumstance  which  will  act  upon  some  offi- 
cers of  this  regiment,  above  all  measure,  to  be  obliged 
to  serve  upon  such  different  terms,  when  their  lives, 
their  fortunes,  and  their  operations  are  equally,  and, 
I  dare  say,  as  effectually  exposed  as  those  of  others, 
who  are  happy  enough  to  have  the  king's  commission." 

On  the  9th  arrived  Washington's  early  instructor 
in  military  tactics,  Adjutant  Muse,  recently  appointed 
a  major  in  the  regiment.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Montour,  the  Indian  interpreter,  now  a  provincial  cap- 
tain, and  brought  with  him  nine  swivels,  and  a  small 
supply  of  powder  and  ball.  Fifty  or  sixty  horses  were 
forthwith  sent  to  Wills'  Creek,  to  bring  on  further  sup- 


128  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754 

plies,  and  Mr.  Gist  was  urged  to  hasten  forward  the 
artillery. 

Major  Muse  was  likewise  the  bearer  of  a  belt  of 
wampum  and  a  speech,  from  Governor  Dinwiddie,  to 
the  half-king ;  with  medals  for  the  chiefs,  and  goods  for 
presents  among  the  friendly  Indians,  a  measure  which 
had  been  suggested  by  Washington.  They  were  dis- 
tributed with  that  grand  ceremonial  so  dear  to  the  red 
man.  The  chiefs  assembled,  painted  and  decorated  in 
all  their  savage  finery ;  Washington  wore  a  medal  sent 
to  him  by  the  governor  for  such  occasions.  The  wam- 
pum and  speech  having  been  delivered,  he  advanced, 
and  with  all  due  solemnity,  decorated  the  chiefs  and 
warriors  with  the  medals,  which  they  were  to  wear  in 
remembrance  of  their  father  the  King  of  England. 

Among  the  warriors  thus  decorated  was  a  son  of 
Queen  Aliquippa,  the  savage  princess  whose  good  gra- 
ces Washington  had  secured  in  the  preceding  year,  by 
the  present  of  an  old  watch-coat,  and  whose  friendship 
was  important,  her  town  being  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  Trench  fort.  She  had  requested  that  her  son 
might  be  admitted  into  the  war  councils  of  the  camp, 
and  receive  an  English  name.  The  name  of  Fairfax 
was  accordingly  given  to  him,  in  the  customary  Indian 
form;  the  half-king  being  desirous  of  like  distinction, 
received  the  name  of  Dinwiddie.  The  sachems  re- 
turned the  compliment  in  kind,  by  giving  Washington 
the  name  of  Connotaucarius ;  the  meaning  of  which  is 
not  explained. 

William  Fairfax,  Washington's  paternal  adviser,  had 
recently  counselled  him  by  letter,  to  have  public  prayers 
in  his  camp ;  especially  when  there  were  Indian  families 


1754.]  ALARMS.  129 

there ;  this  was  accordingly  done  at  the  encampment 
in  the  Great  Meadows,  and  it  certainly  was  not  one  of 
the  least  striking  pictures  presented  in  this  wild  cam- 
paign— the  youthful  commander,  presiding  with  calm 
seriousness  over  a  motley  assemblage  of  half-equipped 
soldiery,  leathern-clad  hunters  and  woodsmen,  and 
painted  savages  with  their  wives  and  children,  and 
uniting  them  all  in  solemn  devotion  by  his  own  exam- 
ple and  demeanor. 

On  the  10th  there  was  agitation  in  the  camp. 
Scouts  hurried  in  with  word,  as  Washington  under- 
stood them,  that  a  party  of  ninety  Frenchmen  were 
approaching.  He  instantly  ordered  out  a  hundred  and 
fifty  of  his  best  men ;  put  himself  at  their  head,  and 
leaving  Major  Muse  with  the  rest,  to  man  the  fort  and 
mount  the  swivels,  sallied  forth  "  in  the  full  hope," 
as  he  afterwards  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  "  of 
procuring  him  another  present  of  French  prisoners." 

It  was  another  effervescence  of  his  youthful  military 
ardor,  and  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  report 
of  the  scouts  had  been  either  exaggerated  or  misunder- 
stood. The  ninety  Frenchmen  in  military  array  dwin- 
dled down  into  nine  French  deserters. 

According  to  their  account,  the  fort  at  the  fork  was 
completed,  and  named  Duquesne,  in  honor  of  the 
Governor  of  Canada.  It  was  proof  against  all  attack, 
excepting  with  bombs  on  the  land  side.  The  garrison 
did  not  exceed  five  hundred ;  but  two  hundred  more 
were  hourly  expected,  and  nine  hundred  in  the  course 
of  a  fortnight. 

Washington's  suspicions  with  respect  to  La  Force's 
party  were  justified  by  the  report  of  these  deserters ; 
VOL.  i. — 9 


130  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

they  had  been  sent  ont  as  spies,  and  were  to  show  the 
summons  if  discovered  or  overpowered.  The  French 
commander,  they  added,  had  been  blamed  for  sending 
out  so  small  a  party. 

On  the  same  day  Captain  Mackay  arrived,  with 
his  independent  company  of  South  Carolinians.  The 
cross-purposes  which  Washington  had  apprehended, 
soon  manifested  themselves.  The  captain  was  civil  and 
well  disposed,  but  full  of  formalities  and  points  of  eti- 
quette. Holding  a  commission  direct  from  the  king, 
he  could  not  bring  himself  to  acknowledge  a  provincial 
officer  as  his  superior.  He  encamped  separately,  kept 
separate  guards,  would  not  agree  that  Washington 
should  assign  any  rallying  place  for  his  men  in  case  of 
alarm,  and  objected  to  receive  from  him  the  parole  and 
countersign,  though  necessary  for  their  common  safety. 

Washington  conducted  himself  with  circumspec- 
tion, avoiding  every  thing  that  might  call  up  a  ques- 
tion of  command,  and  reasoning  calmly  whenever  such 
question  occurred;  but  he  urged  the  governor  by 
letter,  to  prescribe  their  relative  rank  and  authority. 
"  He  thinks  you  have  not  a  power  to  give  commissions 
that  will  command  him.  If  so,  I  can  very  confidently 
say  that  his  absence  would  tend  to  the  public  advan- 
tage." 

On  the  11th  of  June,  Washington  resumed  the  labo- 
rious march  for  Bedstone  Creek.  As  Captain  Mackay 
could  not  oblige  his  men  to  work  on  the  road,  un- 
less they  were  allowed  a  shilling  sterling  a  day ;  and 
as  Washington  did  not  choose  to  pay  this,  nor  to  suffer 
them  to  march  at  their  ease  while  his  own  faithful  sol- 
diers were  laboriously  employed ;  he  left  the  captain 


1754.J         RETREAT    TO    THE    GREAT   MEADOWS.  131 

and  his  independent  company  as  a  guard  at  Port  Ne- 
cessity, and  undertook  to  complete  the  military  road 
with  his  own  men. 

Accordingly,  he  and  his  Virginia  troops  toiled  for- 
ward through  the  narrow  denies  of  the  mountains, 
working  on  the  road  as  they  went.  Scouts  were  sent 
out  in  all  directions,  to  prevent  surprise.  While  on 
the  march  he  was  continually  beset  by  sachems,  with 
their  tedious  ceremonials  and  speeches,  all  to  very  little 
purpose.  Some  of  these  chiefs  were  secretly  in  the 
French  interest ;  few  rendered  any  real  assistance,  and 
all  expected  presents. 

At  Gist's  establishment,  about  thirteen  miles  from 
Fort  Necessity,  Washington  received  certain  intelli- 
gence that  ample  reinforcements  had  arrived  at  Fort 
Duquesne,  and  a  large  force  would  instantly  be  de- 
tached against  him.  Coming  to  a  halt,  he  began  to 
throw  up  intrenchments,  calling  in  two  foraging  parties, 
and  sending  word  to  Captain  Mackay  to  join  him  with 
all  speed.  The  captain  and  his  company  arrived  in  the 
evening;  the  foraging  parties  the  next  morning.  A 
council  of  war  was  held,  in  wiiich  the  idea  of  awaiting 
the  enemy  at  this  place  was  unanimously  abandoned. 

A  rapid  and  toilsome  retreat  ensued.  There  was  a 
deficiency  of  horses.  Washington  gave  up  his  own  to 
aid  in  transporting  the  military  munitions,  leaving  his 
baggage  to  be  brought  on  by  soldiers,  whom  he  paid 
liberally.  The  other  officers  followed  his  example. 
The  weather  was  sultry  j  the  roads  were  rough ;  provi- 
sions were  scanty,  and  the  men  dispirited  by  hunger. 
The  Virginian  soldiers  took  turns  to  drag  the  swivels, 
but  felt  almost  insulted  by  the  conduct  of  the  South 


132  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754, 

Carolinians,  who,  piquing  themselves  upon  their  as- 
sumed privileges  as  "  king's  soldiers/'  sauntered  along 
at  their  ease ;  refusing  to  act  as  pioneers,  or  participate 
in  the  extra  labors  incident  to  a  hurried  retreat. 

On  the  1st  of  July  they  reached  the  Great  Mead- 
ows. Here  the  Virginians,  exhausted  by  fatigue,  hun- 
ger, and  vexation,  declared  they  would  carry  the  bag- 
gage and  drag  the  swivels  no  further.  Contrary  to  his 
original  intentions,  therefore,  Washington  determined 
to  halt  here  for  the  present,  and  fortify ;  sending  off 
expresses,  to  hasten  supplies  and  reinforcements  from 
Wills'  Creek,  where  he  had  reason  to  believe  that  two 
independent  companies,  from  New  York,  were  by  this 
time  arrived. 

The  retreat  to  the  Great  Meadows  had  not  been  in 
the  least  too  precipitate.  Captain  de  Villiers,  a  broth- 
er-in-law of  Jumonville,  had  actually  sallied  forth  from 
Fort  Duquesne  at  the  head  of  upwards  of  five  hundred 
French,  and  several  hundred  Indians,  eager  to  avenge 
the  death  of  his  relative.  Arriving  about  dawn  of 
day,  at  Gist's  plantation,  he  surrounded  the  works 
which  Washington  had  hastily  thrown  up  there,  and 
fired  into  them.  Finding  them  deserted,  he  conclud- 
ed that  those  of  whom  he  came  in  search  had  made 
good  their  retreat  to  the  settlements,  and  it  was  too 
late  to  pursue  them.  He  was  on  the  point  of  return- 
ing to  Fort  Duquesne,  when  a  deserter  arrived,  who 
gave  word  that  Washington  had  come  to  a  halt  in  the 
Great  Meadows,  where  his  troops  were  in  a  starving 
condition ;  for  his  own  part,  he  added,  hearing  that  the 
French  were  coming,  he  had  deserted  to  them  to  es- 
cape starvation. 


1754.J         DESERTION    OP   THE    INDIAN    ALLIES.  133 

De  Villiers  ordered  the  fellow  into  confinement ;  to 
be  rewarded  if  his  words  proved  true,  otherwise  to  be 
hanged.  He  then  pushed  forward  for  the  Great  Mead- 
ows.* 

In  the  mean  time  Washington  had  exerted  himself 
to  enlarge  and  strengthen  Port  Necessity,  nothing  of 
which  had  been  done  by  Captain  Mackay  and  his  men, 
while  encamped  there.  The  fort  was  about  a  hundred 
feet  square,  protected  by  trenches  and  palisades,  It 
stood  on  the  margin  of  a  small  stream,  nearly  in  the 
centre  of  the  Great  Meadows,  which  is  a  grassy  plain, 
perfectly  level,  surrounded  by  wooded  hills  of  a  mode- 
rate height,  and  at  that  place  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  wide.  Washington  asked  no  assistance 
from  the  South  Carolina  troops,  but  set  to  work  with 
his  Virginians,  animating  them  by  word  and  example ; 
sharing  in  the  labor  of  felling  trees,  hewing  off  the 
branches,  and  rolling  up  the  trunks  to  form  a  breast- 
work. 

At  this  critical  juncture  he  was  deserted  by  his 
Indian  allies.  They  were  disheartened  at  the  scanty 
preparations  for  defence  against  a  superior  force,  and 
offended  at  being  subjected  to  military  command. 
The  half-king  thought  he  had  not  been  sufficiently  con- 
sulted, and  that  his  advice  had  not  been  sufficiently 
followed;  such,  at  least,  were  some  of  the  reasons 
which  he  subsequently  gave  for  abandoning  the  youth- 
ful commander  on  the  approach  of  danger.  The  true 
reason  was,  a  desire  to  put  his  wife  and  children  in  a 
place  of  safety.     Most  of  his  warriors  followed  his  ex- 

*  Hazard's  Register  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  iv.,  p.  229. 


134  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

ample ;  very  few,  and  those  probably  who  had  no  fam- 
ilies at  risk,  remained  in  the  camp. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  3d,  while  Washing- 
ton and  his  men  were  working  on  the  fort,  a  sentinel 
came  in  wounded  and  bleeding,  having  been  fired  up- 
on. Scouts  brought  word  ^shortly  afterwards  that  the 
French  were  in  force,  about  four  miles  off.  Washing- 
ton drew  up  his  men  on  level  ground  outside  of  the 
works  to  await  their  attack.  About  11  o'clock,  there 
was  a  firing  of  musketry  from  among  trees  on  rising 
ground,  but  so  distant  as  to  do  no  harm ;  suspecting  this 
to  be  a  stratagem  designed  to  draw  his  men  into  the 
woods,  he  ordered  them  to  keep  quiet,  and  refrain  from 
firing  until  the  foe  should  show  themselves,  and  draw 
near. 

The  firing  was  kept  up,  but  still  under  cover.  He 
now  fell  back  with  his  men  into  the  trenches,  order- 
ing them  to  fire  whenever  they  could  get  sight  of  an 
enemy.  In  this  way  there  was  skirmishing  throughout 
the  day ;  the  French  and  Indians  advancing  as  near  as 
the  covert  of  the  woods  would  permit,  which  in  the 
nearest  place  was  sixty  yards,  but  never  into  open  sight. 
In  the  mean  while  the  rain  fell  in  torrents ;  the  harassed 
and  jaded  troops  were  half  drowned  in  their  trenches, 
and  many  of  their  muskets  were  rendered  unfit  for  use. 

About  eight  at  night  the  French  requested  a  parley. 
Washington  hesitated.  It  might  be  a  stratagem  to 
gain  admittance  for  a  spy  into  the  fort.  The  request 
was  repeated,  with  the  addition  that  an  officer  might 
be  sent  to  treat  with  them,  under  their  parole  for  his 
safety.  Unfortunately,  the  Chevalier  de  Peyrouney, 
engineer  of  the  regiment,  and  the  only  one  who  could 


1754,]     VAN  BRAAM  AS  AN  INTERPRETER.      135 

speak  French  correctly,  was  wounded  and  disabled. 
Washington  had  to  send,  therefore,  his  ancient  swords- 
man and  interpreter,  Jacob  Van  Braam.  The  captain 
returned  twice  with  separate  terms,  in  which  the  gar- 
rison was  required  to  surrender ;  both  were  rejected. 
He  returned  a  third  time,  with  written  articles  of  capit- 
ulation. They  were  in  French.  As  no  implements  of 
writing  were  at  hand,  Van  Braam  undertook  to  trans- 
late them  by  word  of  mouth.  A  candle  was  brought, 
and  held  close  to  the  paper  while  he  read.  The  rain 
fell  in  torrents ;  it  was  difficult  to  keep  the  light  from 
being  extinguished.  The  captain  rendered  the  capit- 
ulation, article  by  article,  in  mongrel  English,  while 
Washington  and  his  officers  stood  listening,  endeavor- 
ing to  disentangle  the  meaning.  One  article  stipulated 
that  on  surrendering  the  fort  they  should  leave  all  their 
military  stores,  munitions,  and  artillery  in  possession 
of  the  French.  This  was  objected  to,  and  was  readily 
modified. 

The  main  articles,  as  Washington  and  his  officers 
understood  them,  were  that  they  should  be  allowed  to 
return  to  the  settlements,  without  molestation  from 
French  or  Indians.  That  they  should  march  out  of 
the  fort  with  the  honors  of  war,  drums  beating  and  col- 
ors flying,  and  with  all  their  effects  and  military  stores 
excepting  the  artillery,  which  should  be  destroyed. 
That  they  should  be  allowed  to  deposit  their  effects  in 
some  secret  place,  and  leave  a  guard  to  protect  them 
until  they  could  send  horses  to  bring  them  away ;  their 
horses  having  been  nearly  all  killed  or  lost  during  the 
action.  That  they  should  give  their  word  of  honor  not 
to  attempt  any  buildings  or  improvements  on  the  lands 


136  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  T1754. 

of  his  most  Christian  majesty,  for  the  space  of  a  year. 
That  the  prisoners  taken  in  the  skirmish  of  Jumonville 
should  be  restored,  and  until  their  delivery,  Captain 
Van  Braam  and  Captain  Stobo  should  remain  with  the 
French  as  hostages.* 

The  next  morning  accordingly,  Washington  and  his 
men  marched  out  of  their  forlorn  fortress  with  the  hon- 
ors of  war,  bearing  with  them  their  regimental  colors, 
but  leaving  behind  a  large  flag,  too  cumbrous  to  be 
transported.  Scarcely  had  they  begun  their  march, 
however,  when,  in  defiance  of  the  terms  of  capitula- 
tion, they  were  beset  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  allies 
of  the  French,  who  began  plundering  the  baggage, 
and  committing  other  irregularities.  Seeing  that  the 
French  did  not,  or  could  not,  prevent  them,  and  that 
all  the  baggage  which  could  not  be  transported  on  the 
shoulders  of  his  troops  would  fall  into  the  hands  of 
these  savages,  Washington  ordered  it  to  be  destroyed, 
as  well  as  the  artillery,  gunpowder,  and  other  military 
stores.  All  this  detained  him  until  ten  o'clock,  when 
he  set  out  on  his  melancholy  march.  He  had  not  pro- 
ceeded above  a  mile  when  two  or  three  of  the  wounded 
men  were  reported  to  be  missing.  He  immediately 
detached  a  few  men  back  in  quest  of  them,  and  con- 
tinued on  until  three  miles  from  Fort  Necessity,  where 
he  encamped  for  the  night,  and  was  rejoined  by  the 
stragglers. 


*  Horace  Walpole,  in  a  flippant  notice  of  this  capitulation,  says :  "  The 
French  have  tied  up  the  hands  of  an  excellent  fanfaron,  a  Major  Washing 
ton,  whom  they  took  and  engaged  not  to  serve  for  one  year."  (Correspon- 
dence, vol.  ill.,  p.  *73.)  Walpole,  at  this  early  date,  seems  to  have  consid 
sred  Washington  a  perfect  fire-eater. 


1754]  RETURN   TO   WILLIAMSBURG.  137 

In  this  affair,  out  of  the  Virginia  regiment,  consist- 
ing of  three  hundred  and  five  men,  officers  included, 
twelve  had  been  killed,  and  forty-three  wounded. 
The  number  killed  and  wounded  in  Captain  Mackay's 
company  is  not  known.  The  loss  of  the  French  and 
Indians  is  supposed  to  have  been  much  greater. 

In  the  following  days'  march,  the  troops  seemed 
jaded  and  disheartened;  they  were  encumbered  and 
delayed  by  the  wounded ;  provisions  were  scanty,  and 
they  had  seventy  weary  miles  to  accomplish  before 
they  could  meet  with  supplies.  Washington,  however, 
encouraged  them  by  his  own  steadfast  and  cheerful  de- 
meanor, and  by  sharing  all  their  toils  and  privations ; 
and  at  length  conducted  them  in  safety  to  Wills' 
Creek,  where  they  found  ample  provisions  in  the  mili- 
tary magazines.  Leaving  them  here  to  recover  their 
strength,  he  proceeded  with  Captain  Mackay  to  Wil- 
liamsburg, to  make  his  military  report  to  the  gov- 
ernor. 

A  copy  of  the  capitulation  was  subsequently  laid 
before  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  with  explana- 
tions. Notwithstanding  the  unfortunate  result  of  the 
campaign,  the  conduct  of  Washington  and  his  officers 
was  properly  appreciated,  and  they  received  a  vote  of 
thanks  for  their  bravery,  and  gallant  defence  of  their 
country.  Three  hundred  pistoles  (nearly  eleven  hun- 
dred dollars)  also  were  voted  to  be  distributed  among 
the  privates  who  had  been  in  action. 

Erom  the  vote  of  thanks,  two  officers  were  except- 
ed; Major  Muse,  who  was  charged  with  cowardice, 
and  Washington's  unfortunate  master  of  fence  and 
blundering  interpreter,  Jacob  Van  Braam,  who  was  ac- 


138  -JFE   OF   WASHINGTON,  [1754, 

cused  of  treachery,  in  purposely  misrepresenting  the 
articles  of  capitulation. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  we  will  anticipate  dates 
to  record  the  fortunes  of  the  half-king  after  his  with- 
drawal from  the  camp.  He  and  several  of  his  warri- 
ors, with  their  wives  and  children,  retreated  to  Augh- 
quick,  in  the  back  part  of  Pennsylvania,  where  George 
Croghan  had  an  agency,  and  was  allowed  money  from 
time  to  time  for  the  maintenance  of  Indian  allies.  By 
the  by,  Washington,  in  his  letter  to  William  Fairfax, 
expressed  himself  much  disappointed  in  Croghan  and 
Montour,  who  proved,  he  said,  to  be  great  pretenders, 
and  by  vainly  boasting  of  their  interest  with  the  In- 
dians, involved  the  country  in  great  calamity,  causing 
dependence  to  be  placed  where  there  was  none.  * 
For,  with  all  their  boast,  they  never  could  induce  above 
thirty  fighting  men  to  join  the  camp,  and  not  more 
than  half  of  those  rendered  any  service. 

As  to  the  half-king,  he  expressed  himself  perfectly 
disgusted  with  the  white  man's  mode  of  warfare.  The 
French,  he  said,  were  cowards;  the  English,  fools. 
Washington  was  a  good  man,  but  wanted  experience  : 
he  would  not  take  advice  of  the  Indians,  and  was  al- 
ways driving  them  to  fight  according  to  his  own  no- 
tions. For  this  reason  he  (the  half-king)  had  carried 
off  his  wife  and  children  to  a  place  of  safety. 

After  a  time  the  chieftain  fell  dangerously  ill,  and 
a  conjurer  or  '  medicine  man '  was  summoned  to  in- 
quire into  the  cause  or  nature  of  his  malady.  He  gave 
it  as  his  opinion  that  the  French  had  bewitched  him,  in 

*  Letter  to  W.  Fairfax,  Aug.  11th,  1754. 


1754.]  STATEMENT   OF   DE   VILLIERS.  139 

revenge  for  the  great  blow  lie  had  struck  them  in  the 
affair  of  Jumonville;  for  the  Indians  gave  him  the 
whole  credit  of  that  success,  he  having  sent  round  the 
Trench  scalps  as  trophies.  In  the  opinion  of  the  con- 
jurer all  the  friends  of  the  chieftain  concurred,  and  on 
his  death,  which  took  place  shortly  afterwards,  there 
was  great  lamentation,  mingled  with  threats  of  imme- 
diate vengeance.  The  foregoing  particulars  are  gath- 
ered from  a  letter  written  by  John  Harris,  an  Indian 
trader,  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  request 
of  the  half-king's  friend  and  fellow  sachem,  Manacatoo- 
cha,  otherwise  called  Scarooyadi.  "I  humbly  pre- 
sume," concludes  John  Harris,  "  that  his  death  is  a 
very  great  loss,  especially  at  this  critical  time."  * 

NOTE. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  tracing  the  affair  of  the  Great 
Meadows,  step  by  step,  guided  by  the  statements  of  Washington  him- 
self and  of  one  of  his  officers,  present  in  the  engagement,  because  it  is 
another  of  the  events  in  the  early  stage  of  his  military  career,  before  the 
justice  and  magnanimity  of  his  character  were  sufficiently  established, 
which  have  been  subject  to  misrepresentation.  When  the  articles  of 
capitulation  came  to  be  correctly  translated  and  published,  there  were 
passages  in  them  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  Washington  and  his 
troops,  and  which,  it  would  seem,  had  purposely  been  inserted  for 
their  humiliation  by  the  French  commander ;  but  which,  they  protest- 
ed, had  never  been  rightly  translated  by  Yan  Braam.  For  instance, 
in  the  written  articles,  they  were  made  to  stipulate  that  for  the  space 
of  a  year,  they  would  not  work  on  any  establishment  beyond  the 
mountains ;  whereas  it  had  been  translated  by  Yan  Braam  "  on  any 
establishment  on  the  lands  of  the  "king  of  France"  which  was  quite 
another  thing,  as  most  of  the  land  beyond  the  mountains  was  consid- 
ered by  them  as  belonging  to  the  British  crown.  There  were  other 
points,  of  minor  importance,  relative  to  the  disposition  of  the  artillery; 
but  the  most  startling  and  objectionable  one  was  that  concerning  the 

*  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1*78. 


140  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754 

previous  skirmish  in  the  Great  Meadows.  This  was  mentioned  in  the 
written  articles  as  Vassassinat  du  Sieur  de  Jumonville,  that  is  to  say, 
the  murder  of  De  Jumonville ;  an  expression  from  which  Washington 
and  his  officers  wonld  have  revolted  with  scorn  and  indignation ;  and 
which,  if  truly  translated,  would,  in  all  probability,  have  caused  the 
capitulation  to  be  sent  back  instantly  to  the  French  commander.  On 
the  contrary,  they  declared  it  had  been  translated  to  them  by  Van 
Braam  the  death  of  De  Jumonville. 

M.  de  Villiers,  in  his  account  of  this  transaction  to  the  French 
government,  avails  himself  of  these  passages  in  the  capitulation  to  cast 
a  slur  on  the  conduct  of  Washington.  He  says,  "  We  made  the  Eng- 
lish consent  to  sign  that  they  had  assassinated  my  brother  in  his 
camp." — "We  caused  them  to  abandon  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
king. — We  obliged  them  to  leave  their  cannon,  which  consisted 
of  nine  pieces,  &c."  He  further  adds :  "  The  English,  struck  with 
panic,  took  to  flight,  and  left  their  flag  and  one  of  their  colors."  We 
have  shown  that  the  flag  left  was  the  unwieldy  one  belonging  to  the 
fort ;  too  cumbrous  to  be  transported  by  troops  who  could  not  carry 
their  own  necessary  baggage.  The  regimental  colors,  as  honorable 
symbols,  were  scrupulously  carried  off  by  Washington,  and  retained  by 
him  in  after  years. 

M.  de  Villiers  adds  another  incident  intended  to  degrade  his 
enemy.  He  says,  "  One  of  my  Indians  took  ten  Englishmen,  whom 
he  brought  to  me,  and  whom  I  sent  back  by  another."  These,  doubt- 
less, were  the  men  detached  by  Washington  in  quest  of  the  wounded 
loiterers ;  and  who,  understanding  neither  French  nor  Indian,  found  a 
difficulty  in  explaining  their  peaceful  errand.  That  they  were  cap- 
tured by  the  Indian  seems  too  much  of  a  gasconade. 

The  public  opinion  at  the  time  was,  that  Van  Braam  had  been 
suborned  by  De  Villiers  to  soften  the  offensive  articles  of  the  capitula- 
tion in  translating  them,  so  that  they  should  not  wound  the  pride  nor 
awaken  the  scruples  of  Washington  and  his  officers,  yet  should  stand 
on  record  against  them.  It  is  not  probable  that  a  French  officer  of 
De  Villiers'  rank  would  practise  such  a  base  perfidy,  nor  does  the  sub- 
sequent treatment  experienced  by  Van  Braam  from  the  French  cor- 
roborate the  charge.  It  is  more  than  probable  the  inaccuracy  of 
translation  originated  in  his  ignorance  of  the  precise  weight  and  value 
of  words  in  the  two  languages,  neither  of  which  was  native  to  him, 
and  between  which  he  was  the  blundering  agent  of  exchange. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


FOUNDING  OF  FORT  CUMBERLAND — SECRET  LETTER  OF  STOBO — THE  INDIAN 
MESSENGER — PROJECT  OF  DINWIDDIE — HIS  PERPLEXITIES — A  TAINT  OF 
REPUBLICANISM  IN  THE  COLONIAL  ASSEMBLIES — DINWIDDIE's  MILITARY 
MEASURES — WASHINGTON  QUITS  THE  SERVICE — OVERTURES  OF  GOVER- 
NOR SHARPS,  OF  MARYLAND — "WASHINGTON'S  DIGNIFIED  REPLY — QUES- 
TIONS OF  RANK  BETWEEN  ROYAL  AND  PROVINCIAL  TROOPS — TREAT- 
MENT OF  THE  FRENCH  PRISONERS — FATE  OF  LA  FORCE — ANECDOTES 
OF  STOBO   AND  VAN  BEAAM. 


Early  in  August  Washington  rejoined  his  regiment, 
which  had  arrived  at  Alexandria  by  the  way  of  Win- 
chester. Letters  from  Governor  Dinwiddie  urged  him 
to  recruit  it  to  the  former  number  of  three  hundred 
men,  and  join  Colonel  Innes  at  Wills'  Creek,  where 
that  officer  was  stationed  with  Mackay's  independent 
company  of  South  Carolinians,  and  two  independent 
companies  from  New  York,  and  had  been  employed 
in  erecting  a  work  to  serve  as  a  frontier  post  and 
rallying  point ;  which  work  received  the  name  of  Port 
Cumberland,  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
captain-general  of  the  British  army. 

In  the  mean  time  the  French,  elated  by  their  recent 
triumph,  and  thinking  no  danger  at  hand,  relaxed  their 


142  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

vigilance  at  Port  Duquesne.  Stobo,  who  was  a  kind 
of  prisoner  at  large  there,  found  means  to  send  a  letter 
secretly  by  an  Indian,  dated  July  28,  and  directed  to 
the  commander  of  the  English  troops.  It  was  accom- 
panied by  a  plan  of  the  fort.  "  There  are  two  hundred 
men  here,"  writes  he,  "and  two  hundred  expected; 
the  rest  have  gone  off  in  detachments  to  the  amount 
of  one  thousand,  besides  Indians.  None  lodge  in  the 
fort  but  Contrecceur  and  the  guard,  consisting  of  forty 
men  and  five  officers ;  the  rest  lodge  in  bark  cabins 
around  the  fort.  The  Indians  have  access  day  and 
night,  and  come  and  go  when  they  please.  If  one 
hundred  trusty  Shawnees,  Mingoes,  and  Delawares 
were  picked  out,  they  might  surprise  the  fort,  lodging 
themselves  under  the  palisades  by  day,  and  at  night 
secure  the  guard  with  their  tomahawks,  shut  the  sally- 
gate,  and  the  fort  is  ours." 

One  part  of  Stobo's  letter  breathes  a  loyal  and 
generous  spirit  of  self-devotion.  Alluding  to  the 
danger  in  which  he  and  Van  Braam,  his  fellow- 
hostage,  might  be  involved,  he  says:  "Consider  the 
good  of  the  expedition  without  regard  to  us.  When 
we  engaged  to  serve  the  country,  it  was  expected  we 
were  to  do  it  with  our  lives.  For  my  part,  I  would 
die  a  hundred  deaths  to  have  the  pleasure  of  possessing 
this  fort  but  one  day.  They  are  so  vain  of  their  suc- 
cess at  the  Meadows,  it  is  worse  than  death  to  hear 
them.     Haste  to  strike."* 

The  Indian  messenger  carried  the  letter  to  Augh- 
quick  and  delivered  it  into  the  hands  of  George  Crog- 

*  Hazard's  Register  of  Penn.  iv.,  829. 


1754.]  dinwiddie' s  project.  143 

han.  The  Indian  chiefs  who  were  with  him  insisted 
upon  his  opening  it.  He  did  so,  but  on  finding  the 
tenor  of  it,  transmitted  it  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  secret  information  communicated  by  Stobo, 
may  have  been  the  cause  of  a  project  suddenly  conceiv- 
ed by  Governor  Dinwiddie,  of  a  detachment  which,  by 
a  forced  march  across  the  mountains,  might  descend 
upon  the  French  and  take  Port  Duquesne  at  a  single 
blow;  or,  failing  that,  might  build  a  rival  fort  in  its 
vicinity.  He  accordingly  wrote  to  Washington  to 
march  forthwith  to  Wills'  Creek,  with  such  companies 
as  were  complete,  leaving  orders  with  the  officers  to 
follow  as  soon  as  they  should  have  enlisted  men  suffi- 
cient to  make  up  their  companies.  "The  season  of 
the  year/'  added  he,  "  calls  for  despatch.  I  depend 
upon  your  usual  diligence  and  spirit  to  encourage  your 
people  to  be  active  on  this  occasion." 

The  ignorance  of  Dinwiddie  in  military  affairs,  and 
his  want  of  forecast,  led  him  perpetually  into  blunders. 
Washington  saw  the  rashness  of  an  attempt  to  dispos- 
sess the  French  with  a  force  so  inferior  that  it  could  be 
harassed  and  driven  from  place  to  place  at  their  plea- 
sure. Before  the  troops  could  be  collected,  and  muni- 
tions of  war  provided,  the  season  would  be  too  far  ad- 
vanced. There  would  be  no  forage  for  the  horses; 
the  streams  would  be  swollen  and  unfordable ;  the 
mountains  rendered  impassable  by  snow,  and  frost, 
and  slippery  roads.  The  men,  too,  unused  to  cam- 
paigning on  the  frontier,  would  not  be  able  to  endure 
a  winter  in  the  wilderness,  with  no  better  shelter  than 
a  tent ;  especially  in  their  present  condition,  destitute 
of  almost  every  thing.     Such  are  a  few  of  the  cogent  rea- 


144  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

sons  urged  by  Washington  in  a  letter  to  his  friend, 
William  Fairfax,  then  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  which 
no  doubt  was  shown  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  and  prob- 
ably had  an  effect  in  causing  the  rash  project  to  be 
abandoned. 

The  governor,  in  truth,  was  sorely  perplexed  about 
this  time  by  contradictions  and  cross -purposes,  both  in 
military  and  civil  affairs.  A  body  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  North  Carolinian  troops  had  been  enlisted  at 
high  pay,  and  were  to  form  the  chief  reinforcement  of 
Colonel  Innes  at  Wills'  Creek.  By  the  time  they 
reached  Winchester,  however,  the  provincial  military 
chest  was  exhausted,  and  future  pay  seemed  uncertain ; 
whereupon  they  refused  to  serve  any  longer,  disbanded 
themselves  tumultuously,  and  set  off  for  their  homes 
without  taking  leave. 

The  governor  found  the  House  of  Burgesses  equal- 
ly unmanageable.  His  demands  for  supplies  were  re- 
sisted on  what  he  considered  presumptuous  pretexts ; 
or  granted  sparingly,  under  mortifying  restrictions.  His 
high  Tory  notions  were  outraged  by  such  republican 
conduct.  "  There  appears  to  me,"  said  he,  "  an  infat- 
uation in  all  the  Assemblies  in  this  part  of  the  world." 
In  a  letter  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  he  declared  that  the 
only  way  effectually  to  check  the  progress  of  the  French, 
would  be  an  act  of  Parliament  requiring  the  colonies 
to  contribute  to  the  common  cause,  independently  of 
Assemblies ;  and  in  another,  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
he  urged  the  policy  of  compelling  the  colonies  to  their 
duty  to  the  king  by  a  general  poll-tax  of  two-and-six- 
pence  a  head.  The  worthy  governor  would  have  made 
a  fitting    councillor  for  the   Stuart  dynasty.     Subse- 


1754.]  OVERTURES    OF    GOVERNOR    SHARPE.  145 

quent  events  have  shown  how  little  his  policy  was  suit- 
ed to  compete  with  the  dawning  republicanism  of 
Ajnerica. 

In  the  month  of  October  the  House  of  Burgesses 
made  a  grant  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  for  the  pub- 
He  service ;  and  ten  thousand  more  were  sent  out  from 
England,  beside  a  supply  of  fire-arms.  The  governor 
now  applied  himself  to  military  matters  with  renewed 
spirit;  increased  the  actual  force  to  ten  companies; 
and,  as  there  had  been  difficulties  among  the  different 
kinds  of  troops  with  regard  to  precedence,  he  reduced 
them  all  to  independent  companies;  so  that  there 
would  be  no  officer  in  a  Virginia  regiment  above  the 
rank  of  captain. 

This  shrewd  measure,  upon  which  Dinwiddie  se- 
cretly prided  himself  as  calculated  to  put  an  end  to 
the  difficulties  in  question,  immediately  drove  Wash- 
ington out  of  the  service;  considering  it  derogatory 
to  his  character  to  accept  a  lower  commission  than  that 
under  which  his  conduct  had  gained  him  a  vote  of 
thanks  from  the  Legislature. 

Governor  Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  appointed  by  the 
king  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  engaged 
against  the  French,  sought  to  secure  his  valuable  servi- 
ces, and  authorized  Colonel  Fitzhugh,  whom  he  had 
placed  in  temporary  command  of  the  army,  to  write 
to  him  to  that  effect.  The  reply  of  Washington  (15th 
Nov.)  is  full  of  dignity  and  spirit,  and  shows  how 
deeply  he  felt  his  military  degradation. 

"  You  make  mention,"  says  he,  "  of  my  continuing 
in  the  service  and  retaining  my  colonel's  commission. 
This  idea  has  rilled  me  with  surprise ;  for  if  you  think 

VOL.    I. 10 


146  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [~1754. 

me  capable  of  holding  a  commission  that  has  neither 
rank  nor  emolument  annexed  to  it,  you  must  maintain 
a  very  contemptible  opinion  of  my  weakness,  and  believe 
me  more  empty  than  the  commission  itself."  After 
intimating  a  suspicion  that  the  project  of  reducing  the 
regiment  into  independent  companies,  and  thereby 
throwing  out  the  higher  officers,  was  "  generated  and 
hatched  at  Wills'  Creek," — in  other  words,  was  an  ex- 
pedient of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  instead  of  being  a  pe- 
remptory order  from  England,  he  adds,  "Ingenuous 
treatment  and  plain  dealing  I  at  least  expected.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  the  project  will  answer  •  it  shall  meet  with 
my  acquiescence  in  every  thing  except  personal  servi- 
ces. I  herewith  inclose  Governor  Sharpe's  letter, 
which  I  beg  you  will  return  to  him  with  my  acknowl- 
edgments for  the  favor  intended  me.  Assure  him,  sir, 
as  you  truly  may,  of  my  reluctance  to  quit  the  service, 
and  the  pleasure  I  should  have  received  in  attending 
his  fortunes.  Inform  him,  also,  that  it  was  to  obey  the 
call  of  honor  and  the  advice  of  my  friends  that  I  de- 
clined it,  and  not  to  gratify  any  desire  I  had  to  leave 
the  military  line.  My  feelings  are  strongly  bent  to 
arms." 

Even  had  Washington  hesitated  to  take  this  step, 
it  would  have  been  forced  upon  him  by  a  further  reg- 
ulation of  government,  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing 
winter,  settling  the  rank  of  officers  of  his  majesty's 
forces  when  joined  or  serving  with  the  provincial  forces 
in  North  America,  "  which  directed  that  all  such  as 
were  commissioned  by  the  king,  or  by  his  general  com- 
mander-in-chief in  North  America,  should  take  rank  of 
all  officers  commissioned  by  the  governors  of  the  re- 


1754.J  QUESTIONS    OF    RANK.  147 

spective  provinces.  And  further,  that  the  general  and 
field  officers  of  the  provincial  troops  should  have  no 
rank  when  serving  with  the  general  and  field  officers 
commissioned  by  the  crown ;  but  that  all  captains  and 
other  inferior  officers  of  the  royal  troops  should  take 
rank  over  provincial  officers  of  the  same  grade,  having 
older  commissions." 

These  regulations,  originating  in  that  supercilious 
assumption  of  superiority  which  sometimes  overruns  and 
degrades  true  British  pride,  would  have  been  spurned 
by  Washington,  as  insulting  to  the  character  and  con- 
duct of  his  high-minded  brethren  of  the  colonies. 
How  much  did  this  open  disparagement  of  colonial 
honor  and  understanding,  contribute  to  wean  from 
England  the  affection  of  her  American  subjects,  and 
prepare  the  way  for  their  ultimate  assertion  of  inde- 
pendence. 

Another  cause  of  vexation  to  Washington  was  the 
refusal  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  give  up  the  French 
prisoners,  taken  in  the  affair  of  De  Jumonville,  in  ful- 
filment of  the  articles  of  capitulation.  His  plea  was, 
that  since  the  capitulation,  the  French  had  taken  seve- 
ral British  subjects,  and  sent  them  prisoners  to  Cana- 
da ;  he  considered  himself  justifiable  in  detaining  those 
Frenchmen  which  he  had  in  his  custody.  He  sent  a 
flag  of  truce,  however,  offering  to  return  the  officer 
Drouillon,  and  the  two  cadets,  in  exchange  for  Cap- 
tains Stobo  and  Van  Braam,  whom  the  French  held  as 
hostages ;  but  his  offer  was  treated  with  merited  dis- 
regard. Washington  felt  deeply  mortified  by  this  ob- 
tuseness  of  the  governor  on  a  point  of  military  punc- 


148  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1754. 

fcilio  and  honorable  faith,  but  his  remonstrances  were 
unavailing. 

The  French  prisoners  were  clothed  and  maintained 
at  the  public  expense,  and  Drouillon  and  the  cadets 
were  allowed  to  go  at  large ;  the  private  soldiers  were 
kept  in  confinement.  La  Force,  also,  not  having  acted 
in  a  military  capacity,  and  having  offended  against  the 
peace  and  security  of  the  frontier,  by  his  intrigues 
among  the  Indians,  was  kept  in  close  durance.  Wash- 
ington, who  knew  nothing  of  this,  was  shocked  on  vis- 
iting Williamsburg,  to  learn  that  La  Force  was  in  pris- 
on. He  expostulated  with  the  governor  on  the  sub- 
ject, but  without  effect ;  Dinwiddie  was  at  all  times 
pertinacious,  but  particularly  so  when  he  felt  himself  to 
be  a  little  in  the  wrong. 

As  we  shall  have  no  further  occasion  to  mention 
La  Force,  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  this  work, 
we  will  anticipate  a  page  of  his  fortunes.  After  re- 
maining two  years  in  confinement  he  succeeded  in 
breaking  out  of  prison,  and  escaping  into  the  country. 
An  alarm  was  given,  and  circulated  far  and  wide ;  for 
such  was  the  opinion  of  his  personal  strength,  desperate 
courage,  wily  cunning,  and  great  influence  over  the  In- 
dians, that  the  most  mischievous  results  were  appre- 
hended should  he  regain  the  frontier.  In  the  mean  time 
he  was  wandering .  about  the  country,  ignorant  of  the 
roads,  and  fearing  to  make  inquiries,  lest  his  foreign 
tongue  should  betray  him.  He  reached  King  and  Queen 
Court-House,  about  thirty  miles  from  Williamsburg, 
when  a  countryman  was  struck  with  his  foreign  air  and 
aspect.  La  Force  ventured  to  put  a  question  as  to  the 
distance  and  direction  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  his  bro- 


1754.]    LA  FORCE STOBO  AND  VAN  BRAAM.      149 

ken  English  convinced  the  countryman  of  his  being  the 
French  prisoner,  whose  escape  had  been  noised  about 
the  country.  Watching  an  opportunity  he  seized  him, 
and  regardless  of  offers  of  great  bribes,  conducted  him 
back  to  the  prison  of  Williamsburg,  where  he  was 
secured  with  double  irons,  and  chained  to  the  floor  of 
his  dungeon. 

The  refusal  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  fulfil  the  ar- 
ticle of  the  capitulation  respecting  the  prisoners,  and 
the  rigorous  treatment  of  La  Force,  operated  hardly 
upon  the  hostages,  Stobo  and  Van  Braam,  who,  in  retal- 
iation, were  confined  in  prison  in  Quebec,  though  oth- 
erwise treated  with  kindness.  They,  also,  by  extraor- 
dinary efforts,  succeeded  in  breaking  prison,  but  found 
it  more  difficult  to  evade  the  sentries  of  a  fortified 
place.  Stobo  managed  to  escape  into  the  country; 
but  the  luckless  Van  Braam  sought  concealment  under 
an  arch  of  a  causeway  leading  from  the  fortress.  Here 
he  remained  until  nearly  exhausted  by  hunger.  See- 
ing the  Governor  of  Canada  passing  by,  and  despair- 
ing of  being  able  to  effect  his  escape,  he  came  forth 
from  his  hiding-place,  and  surrendered  himself,  invok- 
ing his  clemency.  He  was  remanded  to  prison,  but 
experienced  no  additional  severity.  He  was  subse- 
quently shipped  by  the  governor  from  Quebec  to  Eng- 
land, and  never  returned  to  Virginia.  It  is  this  treat- 
ment of  Van  Braam,  more  than  any  thing  else,  which 
convinces  us  that  the  suspicion  of  his  being  in  collu- 
sion with  the  French  in  regard  to  the  misinterpretation 
of  the  articles  of  capitulation,  was  groundless.  He  was 
simply  a  blunderer. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

EETUBN  TO  QUIET  LITE — FEENCH  AND  ENGLISH  PEEPAEE  FOB  HOSTILI- 
TIES— PLAN  OF  A  CAMPAIGN — GENEBAL  BBADDOOK — HIS  OHABACTEB 
— SIB  JOHN  ST.  OLAIB,  QTTABTEBMA6TEE-GENEBAL — HIS  TOUB  OF  IN- 
SPECTION—PEOJECTED  EOADS — AEEIVAL  OF  BBADDOOK — MILITAEY 
CONSULTATIONS  AND  PLANS — COMMODOEE  KEPPEL  AND  HIS  SEAMEN — 
SHIPS  AND  TBOOPS  AT  ALEXANDEIA — EXCITEMENT  OF  WASHINGTON 
— INVITED  TO  JOIN  THE  STAFF  OF  BEADDOCK — A  MOTHEE's  OBJEC- 
TIONS— WASHINGTON  AT  ALEXANDEIA — GEAND  COUNCIL  OF  GOV- 
EENOES — MILITAEY  AEEANGEMENTS — COLONEL  "WILLIAM  JOHNSON — 
SIB  JOHN  ST.  CLAIB  AT  FOBT  CUMBEE LAND— HIS  EXPLOSIONS  OF 
WEATH — THEIB  EFFECTS — INDIANS  TO  BE  ENLISTED — CAPTAIN  JACK 
AND  HIS  BAND  OF  BUSH-BE ATEES. 

Having  resigned  his  commission,  and  disengaged  him- 
self from  public  affairs,  Washington's  first  care  was  to 
visit  his  mother,  inquire  into  the  state  of  domestic  con- 
cerns, and  attend  to  the  welfare  of  his  brothers  and 
sisters.  In  these  matters  he  was  ever  his  mother's  ad- 
junct and  counsellor,  discharging  faithfully  the  duties 
of  an  eldest  son,  who  should  consider  himself  a  second 
father  to  the  family. 

He  now  took  up  his  abode  at  Mount  Vernon,  and 
prepared  to  engage  in  those  agricultural  pursuits,  for 
which,  even  in  his  youthful  days,  he  had  as  keen  a  rel- 


1755.]  MILITARY    PREPARATIONS.  151 

ish  as  for  the  profession  of  arms.  Scarcely  had  he  en- 
tered upon  his  rural  occupations,  however,  when  the  ser- 
vice of  his  country  once  more  called  him  to  the  field. 

The  disastrous  affair  at  the  Great  Meadows,  and 
the  other  acts  of  Trench  hostility  on  the  Ohio,  had 
roused  the  attention  of  the  British  ministry.  Their 
ambassador  at  Paris  was  instructed  to  complain  of  those 
violations  of  the  peace.  The  court  of  Versailles  amused 
him  with  general  assurances  of  amity,  and  a  strict  ad- 
herence to  treaties.  Their  ambassador  at  the  court  of 
St.  James,  the  Marquis  de  Mirepoix,  on  the  faith  of 
his  instructions,  gave  the  same  assurances.  In  the 
mean  time,  however,  French  ships  were  fitted  out,  and 
troops  embarked,  to  carry  out  the  schemes  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  America.  So  profound  was  the  dissimula- 
tion of  the  court  of  Versailles,  that  even  their  own  am- 
bassador is  said  to  have  been  kept  in  ignorance  of 
their  real  designs,  and  of  the  hostile  game  they  were 
playing,  while  he  was  exerting  himself  in  good  faith,  to 
lull  the  suspicions  of  England,  and  maintain  the  inter- 
national peace.  When  his  eyes,  however,  were  opened, 
he  returned  indignantly  to  Prance,  and  upbraided  the 
cabinet  with  the  duplicity  of  which  he  had  been  made 
the  unconscious  instrument. 

The  British  government  now  prepared  for  military 
operations  in  America ;  none  of  them  professedly  ag- 
gressive, but  rather  to  resist  and  counteract  aggressions. 
A  plan  of  campaign  was  devised  for  1755,  having  four 
objects.    ■<*■ 

To  eject  the  French  from  the  lands  which  they  held 
unjustly,  in  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia. 

To  dislodge  them  from  a  fortress  which  they  had 


152  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755 

erected  at  Crown  Point,  on  Lake  Champlain,  within 
what  was  claimed  as  British  territory. 

To  dispossess  them  of  the  fort  which  they  had  con- 
structed at  Niagara,  between  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake 
Erie. 

To  drive  them  from  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  and  recover  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  captain-general  of  the 
British  army,  had  the  organization  of  this  campaign ; 
and  through  his  patronage,  Major-general  Edward 
Braddock  was  intrusted  with  the  execution  of  it,  being 
appointed  generalissimo  of  all  the  forces  in  the  colonies. 

Braddock  was  a  veteran  in  service,  and  had  been 
upwards  of  forty  years  in  the  guards,  that  school  of 
exact  discipline  and  technical  punctilio.  Cumberland, 
who  held  a  commission  in  the  guards,  and  was  bigoted 
to  its  routine,  may  have  considered  Braddock  fitted,  by 
his  skill  and  preciseness  as  a  tactician,  for  a  command 
in  a  new  country,  inexperienced  in  military  science,  to 
bring  its  raw  levies  into  order,  and  to  settle  those  ques- 
tions of  rank  and  etiquette  apt  to  arise  where  regular 
and  provincial  troops  are  to  act  together. 

The  result  proved  the  error  of  such  an  opinion. 
Braddock  was  a  brave  and  experienced  officer ;  but  his 
experience  was  that  of  routine,  and  rendered  him  prag- 
matical and  obstinate ;  impatient  of  novel  expedients 
"not  laid  down  in  the  books,"  but  dictated  by  emer- 
gencies in  a  "  new  country ; "  and  his  military  precision, 
which  would  have  been  brilliant  on  parade,  was  a  con- 
stant obstacle  to  alert  action  in  the  wilderness.* 

*  Horace  Walpole,  in  his  letters,  relates  some  anecdotes  of  Braddock, 
which  give  a  familiar  picture  of  him  in  the  fashionable  life  in  which  he  had 


1755.]  ST.    CLAIR  S    TOUR   OP   INSPECTION.  153 

Braddock  was  to  lead  in  person  the  grand  enter- 
prise of  the  campaign,  that  destined  for  the  frontiers  of 
Virginia  and  Pennsylvania;  it  was  the  enterprise  in 
which  Washington  became  enlisted,  and,  therefore, 
claims  our  especial  attention. 

Prior  to  the  arrival  of  Braddock,  came  out  from 
England  Lieutenant-colonel  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  deputy 
quartermaster-general,  eager  to  make  himself  acquaint- 
ed with  the  field  of  operations.  He  made  a  tour  of 
inspection,  in  company  with  Governor  Sharpe,  of  Ma- 
ryland, and  appears  to  have  been  dismayed  at  sight  of 
the  impracticable  wilderness,  the  region  of  Washing- 
ton's campaign.  Prom  Port  Cumberland,  he  wrote  in 
Pebruary  to  Governor  Morris,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  have 
the  road  cut,  or  repaired,  toward  the  head  of  the  river 
Youghiogeny,  and  another  opened  from  Philadelphia  for 
the  transportation  of  supplies.  "  No  general,"  writes 
he,  "  will  advance  with  an  army  without  having  a  com- 
munication open  to  the  provinces  in  his  rear,  both  for 
the  security  of  retreat,  and  to  facilitate  the  transport  of 

mingled  in  London,  and  are  of  value,  as  letting  us  into  the  private  charac- 
ter of  a  man  whose  name  has  become  proverbial  in  American  history. 
"  Braddock,"  says  Walpole,  "  is  a  very  Iroquois  in  disposition.  He  had  a 
sister,  who,  having  gamed  away  all  her  little  fortune  at  Bath,  hanged  her- 
self with  a  truly  English  deliberation,  leaving  a  note  on  the  table  with 
these  lines :  ■  To  die  is  landing  on  some  silent  shore/  <fcc.  When  Braddock 
was  told  of  it,  he  only  said :  '  Poor  Fanny !  I  always  thought  she  would 
play  till  she  would  be  forced  to  tuck  herself  up.' " 

Braddock  himself  had  been  somewhat  of  a  spendthrift.  He  was  touchy 
also,  and  punctilious.  "  He  once  had  a  duel,"  says  Walpole,  "  with  Colonel 
Glumley,  Lady  Bath's  brother,  who  had  been  his  great  friend.  As  they 
were  going  to  engage,  Glumley,  who  had  good  humor  and  wit  (Braddock 
had  the  latter)  said :  '  Braddock,  you  are  a  poor  dog !  here,  take  my  purse, 
if  you  kill  me  you  will  be  forced  to  run  away,  and  then  you  will  not  have 
a  shilling  to  support  you.'  Braddock  refused  the  purse,  insisted  on  the 
duel,  was  disarmed,  and  would  not  even  ask  for  his  life." 


154  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

provisions,  the  supplying  of  which  must  greatly  depend 
on  your  province."  * 

Unfortunately  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  had  no 
money  at  his  command,  and  was  obliged,  for  expen- 
ses, to  apply  to  his  Assembly,  "  a  set  of  men,"  writes 
he,  "  quite  unacquainted  with  every  kind  of  military  ser- 
vice, and  exceedingly  unwilling  to  part  with  money  on  any 
terms."  However,  by  dint  of  exertions,  he  procured 
the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  explore  the  coun- 
try, and  survey  and  lay  out  the  roads  required.  At 
the  head  of  the  commission  was  George  Croghan,  the 
Indian  trader,  whose  mission  to  the  Twightwees  we 
have  already  spoken  of.  Times  had  gone  hard  with 
Croghan.  The  French  had  seized  great  quantities  of 
his  goods.  The  Indians,  with  whom  he  traded,  had 
failed  to  pay  their  debts,  and  he  had  become  a  bank- 
rupt. Being  an  efficient  agent  on  the  frontier,  and 
among  the  Indians,  he  still  enjoyed  the  patronage  of 
the  Pennsylvania  government. 

When  Sir  John  St.  Clair  had  finished  his  tour  of 
inspection,  he  descended  Wills'  Creek  and  the  Potomac 
for  two  hundred  miles  in  a  canoe  to  Alexandria,  and  re- 
paired to  Virginia  to  meet  General  Braddock.  The 
latter  had  landed  on  the  20th  of  February  at  Hampton, 
in  Virginia,  and  proceeded  to  Williamsburg  to  con- 
sult with  Governor  Dinwiddie.  Shortly  afterwards  he 
was  joined  there  by  Commodore  Keppel,  whose  squad- 
ron of  two  ships  of  war,  and  several  transports,  had 
anchored  in  the  Chesapeake.  On  board  of  these  ships 
were  two  prime  regiments  of  about  five  hundred  men 

*  Colonial  Records,  vi.,  300. 


1755.J  INDIAN    ALLIES.  155 

each ;  one  commanded  by  Sir  Peter  Halket,  the  other 
by  Colonel  Dunbar ;  together  with  a  train  of  artillery, 
and  the  necessary  munitions  of  war.  The  regiments 
were  to  be  augmented  to  seven  hundred  men  each  by 
men  selected  by  Sir  John  St.  Clair  from  Virginia  com- 
panies recently  raised. 

Alexandria  was  fixed  upon  as  the  place  where  the 
troops  should  disembark,  and  encamp.  The  ships 
were  accordingly  ordered  up  to  that  place,  and  the 
levies  directed  to  repair  thither. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  included  the  use  of 
Indian  allies.  Governor  Dinwiddie  had  already  sent 
Mr.  Gist,  son  of  the  pioneer,  Washington's  guide  in 
1753,  to  engage  the  Cherokees  and  Catawbas,  the 
bravest  of  the  Southern  tribes,  who  he  had  no  doubt 
would  take  up  the  hatchet  for  the  English,  peace 
being  first  concluded,  through  the  mediation  of  his 
government,  between  them  and  the  Six  Nations ;  and 
he  gave  Braddock  reason  to  expect  at  least  four  hun- 
dred Indians  to  join  him  at  Port  Cumberland.  He  laid 
before  him  also  contracts  that  he  had  made  for  cattle, 
and  promises  that  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  had 
made  of  flour ;  these,  with  other  supplies,  and  a  thou- 
sand barrels  of  beef  on  board  of  the  transports,  would 
furnish  six  months'  provisions  for  four  thousand  men. 

General  Braddock  apprehended  difficulty  in  pro- 
curing waggons  and  horses  sufficient  to  attend  him  in 
his  march.  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  in  the  course  of  his 
tour  of  inspection,  had  met  with  two  Dutch  settlers,  at 
the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  who  engaged  to  furnish 
two  hundred  waggons,  and  fifteen  hundred  carrying 
horses,  to  be  at  Port  Cumberland  early  in  May. 


156  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

Governor  Sharpe  was  to  furnish  above  a  hundred 
waggons  for  the  transportation  of  stores,  on  the  Mary- 
land side  of  the  Potomac. 

Keppel  furnished  four  cannons  from  his  ships,  for  the 
attack  on  Port  Duquesne,  and  thirty  picked  seamen  to 
assist  in  dragging  them  over  the  mountains ;  for  "  sol- 
diers/' said  he,  "  cannot  be  as  well  acquainted  with  the 
nature  of  purchases,  and  making  use  of  tackles  as  sea- 
men." They  were  to  aid  also  in  passing  the  troops 
and  artillery  on  floats  or  in  boats,  across  the  rivers, 
and  were  under  the  command  of  a  midshipman  and 
lieutenant.  * 

"  Every  thing,"  writes  Captain  Robert  Orme,  one 
of  the  general's  aides-de-camp,  "seemed  to  promise 
so  far  the  greatest  success.  The  transports  were  all 
arrived  safe,  and  the  men  in  health.  Provisions,  Indi- 
ans, carriages,  and  horses,  were  already  provided ;  at 
least  were  to  be  esteemed  so,  considering  the  authori- 
ties on  which  they  were  promised  to  the  general." 

Trusting  to  these  arrangements,  Braddock  proceed- 
ed to  Alexandria.  The  troops  had  all  been  disem- 
barked before  his  arrival,  and  the  Virginia  levies  se- 
lected by  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  to  join  the  regiments  of 
regulars,  were  arrived.  There  were  beside  two  com- 
panies of  hatchet  men,  or  carpenters ;  six  of  rangers ; 
and  one  troop  of  light  horse.  The  levies,  having  been 
clothed,  were  ordered  to  march  immediately  for  Win- 
chester, to  be  armed,  and  the  general  gave  them  in 
charge  of  an  ensign  of  the  44th,  "  to  make  them  as 
like  soldiers  as  possible."  f  The  light  horse  were  re- 
tained by  the  general  as  his  escort  and  body  guard. 

*  Keppel's  Life  of  Keppel,  p.  205.         \  Orme's  Journal. 


1755.]  EXCITEMENT   OF   WASHINGTON.  157 

The  din  and  stir  of  warlike  preparation  disturbed 
the  quiet  of  Mount  Vernon.  Washington  looked 
down  from  his  rural  retreat  upon  the  ships  of  war  and 
transports,  as  they  passed  up  the  Potomac,  with  the 
array  of  arms  gleaming  along  their  decks.  The  boom- 
ing of  cannon  echoed  among  his  groves.  Alexandria 
was  but  a  few  miles  distant.  Occasionally  he  mounted 
his  horse,  and  rode  to  that  place ;  it  was  like  a  garri- 
soned town,  teeming  with  troops,  and  resounding  with 
the  drum  and  fife.  A  brilliant  campaign  was  about  to 
open  under  the  auspices  of  an  experienced  general,  and 
with  all  the  means  and  appurtenances  of  European 
warfare.  How  different  from  the  starveling  expeditions 
he  had  hitherto  been  doomed  to  conduct.  What  an 
opportunity  to  efface  the  memory  of  his  recent  disaster. 
All  his  thoughts  of  rural  life  were  put  to  flight.  The 
military  part  of  his  character  was  again  in  the  ascend- 
ant; his  great  desire  was  to  join  the  expedition  as  a 
volunteer. 

It  was  reported  to  General  Braddock.  The  latter 
was  apprised  by  Governor  Dinwiddie  and  others,  of 
Washington's  personal  merits,  his  knowledge  of  the 
country,  and  his  experience  in  frontier  service,  The 
consequence  was,  a  letter  from  Captain  Robert  Orme, 
one  of  Braddock's  aides-de-camp,  written  by  the  gen- 
eral's order,  inviting  Washington  to  join  his  staff;  the 
letter  concluded  with  frank  and  cordial  expressions  of 
esteem  on  the  part  of  Orme,  which  were  warmly  recip- 
rocated, and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  soldierlike  friend- 
ship between  them. 

A  volunteer  situation  on  the  staff  of  General  Brad- 
dock  offered  no  emolument  nor  command,  and  would 


158  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755, 

be  attended  with  considerable  expense,  beside  a  sacri- 
fice of  his  private  interests,  having  no  person  in  whom 
he  had  confidence,  to  take  charge  of  his  affairs  in  his 
absence ;  still  he  did  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  accept 
the  invitation.  In  the  position  offered  to  him,  all  the 
questions  of  military  rank  which  had  hitherto  annoyed 
him,  would  "be  obviated.  He  could  indulge  his  passion 
for  arms  without  any  sacrifice  of  dignity,  and  he  looked 
forward  with  high  anticipation  to  an  opportunity  of  ac- 
quiring military  experience  in  a  corps  well  organized, 
and  thoroughly  disciplined,  and  in  the  family  of  a  com- 
mander of  acknowledged  skill  as  a  tactician. 

His  mother  heard  with  concern  of  another  projected 
expedition  into  the  wilderness.  Hurrying  to  Mount 
Vernon,  she  entreated  him  not  again  to  expose  himself 
to  the  hardships  and  perils  of  these  frontier  campaigns. 
She  doubtless  felt  the  value  of  his  presence  at  home, 
to  manage  and  protect  the  complicated  interests  of  the 
domestic  connection,  and  had  watched  with  solicitude 
over  his  adventurous  campaigning,  where  so  much 
family  welfare  was  at  hazard.  However  much  a  moth- 
er's pride  may  have  been  gratified  by  his  early  ad- 
vancement and  renown,  she  had  rejoiced  on  his  return 
to  the  safer  walks  of  peaceful  life.  She  was  thorough- 
ly practical  and  prosaic  in  her  notions ;  and  not  to  be 
dazzled  by  military  glory.  The  passion  for  arms  which 
mingled  with  the  more  sober  elements  of  Washington's 
character,  would  seem  to  have  been  inherited  from  his 
father's  side  of  the  house ;  it  was,  in  fact,  the  old  chiv- 
alrous spirit  of  the  De  Wessyngtons. 

His  mother  had  once  prevented  him  from  entering 
the  navy,  when  a  gallant  frigate  was  at  hand,  anchored 


1755.J  WASHINGTON    AT   ALEXANDRIA.  159 

in  the  waters  of  the  Potomac ;  with  all  his  deference 
for  her,  which  he  retained  through  life,  he  could  not 
resist  the  appeal  to  his  martial  sympathies,  which  called 
him  to  the  head-quarters  of  General  Braddock  at 
Alexandria. 

His  arrival  was  hailed  by  his  young  associates, 
Captains  Orme  and  Morris,  the  general's  aides-de- 
camp, who  at  once  received  him  into  frank  companion- 
ship, and  a  cordial  intimacy  commenced  between  them, 
that  continued  throughout  the  campaign. 

He  experienced  a  courteous  reception  from  the 
general,  who  expressed  in  flattering  terms  the  impres- 
sion he  had  received  of  his  merits.  Washington  soon 
appreciated  the  character  of  the  general.  He  found 
him  stately  and  somewhat  haughty,  exact  in  matters  of 
military  etiquette  and  discipline,  positive  in  giving  an 
opinion,  and  obstinate  in  maintaining  it ;  but  of  an  hon- 
orable and  generous,  though  somewhat  irritable  nature. 

There  were  at  that  time  four  governors,  beside 
Dinwiddie,  assembled  at  Alexandria,  at  Braddock's 
request,  to  concert  a  plan  of  military  operations  j  Gov- 
ernor Shirley,  of  Massachusetts;  Lieutenant-governor 
Delancey,  of  New  York ;  Lieutenant-governor  Sharpe, 
of  Maryland;  Lieutenant-governor  Morris,  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Washington  was  presented  to  them  in  a 
manner  that  showed  how  well  his  merits  were  al- 
ready appreciated.  Shirley  seems  particularly  to  have 
struck  him  as  the  model  of  a  gentleman  and  statesman. 
He  was  originally  a  lawyer,  and  had  risen  not  more  by 
his  talents,  than  by  his  implicit  devotion  to  the  crown. 
His  son  William  was  military  secretary  to  Braddock. 

A  grand  council  was  held  on  the  14th  of  April, 


160  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755 

composed  of  General  Braddock,  Commodore  Keppel, 
and  the  governors,  at  which  the  general's  commission 
was  read,  as  were  his  instructions  from  the  king,  rela- 
ting to  a  common  fund,  to  be  established  by  the 
several  colonies,  toward  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
campaign. 

The  governors  were  prepared  to  answer  on  this 
head,  letters  to  the  same  purport  having  been  addressed 
to  them  by  Sir  Thomas  Robinson,  one  of  the  king's 
secretaries  of  state,  in  the  preceding  month  of  October. 
They  informed  Braddock  that  they  had  applied  to  their 
respective  Assemblies  for  the  establishment  of  such  a 
fund,  but  in  vain;  and  gave  it  as  their  unanimous 
opinion,  that  such  a  fund  could  never  be  established 
in  the  colonies  without  the  aid  of  Parliament.  They 
had  found  it  impracticable,  also,  to  obtain  from  their 
respective  governments  the  proportions  expected  from 
them  by  the  crown,  toward  military  expenses  in  Amer- 
ica ;  and  suggested  that  ministers  should  find  out  some 
mode  of  compelling  them  to  do  it;  and  that,  in  the 
mean  time,  the  general  should  make  use  of  his  credit 
upon  government,  for  current  expenses,  lest  the  expe- 
dition should  come  to  a  stand.* 

In  discussing  the  campaign,  the  governors  were  of 
opinion  that  New  York  should  be  made  the  centre 
of  operations,  as  it  afforded  easy  access  by  water  to  the 
heart  of  the  French  possessions  in  Canada.  Braddock, 
however,  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  depart  from  his  in- 
structions, which  specified  the  recent  establishments  of 
the  French  on  the  Ohio  as  the  objects  of  his  expedition, 

*  Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.,  p.  366. 


1755.]  COLONEL   WILLIAM    JOHNSON.  161 

Niagara  and  Crown  Point  were  to  be  attacked 
about  the  same  time  with  Fort  Duquesne,  the  former 
by  Governor  Shirley,  with  his  own  and  Sir  William 
PepperelTs  regiments,  and  some  New  York  companies  ; 
the  latter  by  Colonel  William  Johnson,  sole  manager 
and  director  of  Indian  affairs ;  a  personage  worthy  of 
especial  note. 

He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  had  come  out  to 
this  country  in  1734,  to  manage  the  landed  estates 
owned  by  his  uncle,  Commodore  Sir  Peter  Warren,  in 
the  Mohawk  country.  He  had  resided  ever  since  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Mohawk  River,  in  the  province  of 
New  York.  By  his  agency,  and  his  dealings  with  the 
native  tribes,  he  had  acquired  great  wealth,  and  become 
a  kind  of  potentate  in  the  Indian  country.  His  influ- 
ence over  the  Six  Nations  was  said  to  be  unbounded ; 
and  it  was  principally  with  the  aid  of  a  large  force  of 
their  warriors  that  it  was  expected  he  would  accom- 
plish his  part  of  the  campaign.  The  end  of  June, 
"  nearly  in  July,"  was  fixed  upon  as  the  time  when  the 
several  attacks  upon  Ports  Duquesne,  Niagara,  and 
Crown  Point,  should  be  carried  into  execution;  and 
Braddock  anticipated  an  easy  accomplishment  of  his 
plans. 

The  expulsion  of  the  Prench  from  the  lands  wrong- 
fully held  by  them  in  Nova  Scotia,  was  to  be  assigned 
to  Colonel  Lawrence,  Lieutenant-governor  of  that  prov- 
ince ;  we  will  briefly  add,  in  anticipation,  that  it  was 
effected  by  him,  with  the  aid  of  troops  from  Massachu- 
setts  and  elsewhere,  led  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Monck- 
ton. 

The  business  of  the  Congress  being  finished,  Gene- 

VOL.    I. 11 


162  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

ral  Braddock  would  have  set  out  for  Predericktown,  in 
Maryland,  but  few  waggons  or  teams  had  yet  come  to 
remove  the  artillery.  Washington  had  looked  with 
wonder  and  dismay  at  the  huge  paraphernalia  of  war, 
and  the  world  of  superfluities  to  be  transported  across 
the  mountains,  recollecting  the  difficulties  he  had  expe- 
rienced in  getting  over  them  with  his  nine  swivels  and 
scanty  supplies.  "  If  our  march  is  to  be  regulated  by 
the  slow  movements  of  the  train,"  said  he,  "  it  will  be 
tedious,  very  tedious,  indeed/'  His  predictions  exci- 
ted a  sarcastic  smile  in  Braddock,  as  betraying  the  lim- 
ited notions  of  a  young  provincial  officer,  little  acquaint- 
ed with  the  march  of  armies. 

In  the  mean  while,  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  who  had  re- 
turned to  the  frontier,  was  storming  at  the  camp  at 
Fort  Cumberland.  The  road  required  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania government  had  not  been  commenced.  George 
Croghan  and  the  other  commissioners  were  but  just  ar- 
rived in  camp.  Sir  John,  according  to  Croghan,  re- 
ceived them  in  a  very  disagreeable  manner ;  would  not 
look  at  their  draughts,  nor  suffer  any  representations 
to  be  made  to  him  in  regard  to  the  province,  "  but 
stormed  like  a  lion  rampant ; "  declaring  that  the  want 
of  the  road  and  of  the  provisions  promised  by  Pennsyl- 
vania had  retarded  the  expedition,  and  might  cost  them 
their  lives  from  the  fresh  numbers  of  Erench  that  might 
be  poured  into  the  country. — "  That  instead  of  march- 
ing to  the  Ohio,  he  would  in  nine  days  march  his  army 
into  Cumberland  County  to  cut  the  roads,  press  horses, 
waggons,  &c. — That  he  would  not  suffer  a  soldier  to 
handle  an  axe,  but  by  fire  and  sword  oblige  the  inhab- 
itants  to    do  it.     *     *     *     That  he  would  kill   all 


1755.J       st.  clair's  explosions  of  wrath.  163 

kinds  of  cattle,  and  carry  away  the  horses,  burn  the 
houses,  &c. ;  and  that  if  the  French  defeated  them,  by 
the  delays  of  Pennsylvania,  he  would,  with  his  sword 
drawn,  pass  through  the  province  and  treat  the  inhab- 
itants as  a  parcel  of  traitors  to  his  master.  That  he 
would  write  to  England  by  a  man-of-war ;  shake  Mr. 
Penn's  proprietaryship,  and  represent  Pennsylvania  as  a 
disaffected  province.  *  *  *  He  told  us  to  go  to 
the  general,  if  we  pleased,  who  would  give  us  ten  bad 
words  for  one  that  he  had  given!9 

The  explosive  wrath  of  Sir  John,  which  was  not  to 
be  appeased,  shook  the  souls  of  the  commissioners,  and 
they  wrote  to  Governor  Morris,  urging  that  people 
might  be  set  at  work  upon  the  road,  if  the  Assembly 
had  made  provision  for  opening  it;  and  that  flour 
might  be  sent  without  delay  to  the  mouth  of  Canoco- 
cheague  River,  "  as  being  the  only  remedy  left  to  pre- 
vent these  threatened  mischiefs."  * 

In  reply,  Mr.  Richard  Peters,  Governor  Morris's 
secretary,  wrote  in  his  name :  "  Get  a  number  of  hands 
immediately,  and  further  the  work  by  all  possible  meth- 
ods. Your  expenses  will  be  paid  at  the  next  sitting  of 
Assembly.  Do  your  duty,  and  oblige  the  general  and 
quartermaster  if  possible.  Finish  the  road  that  will  be 
wanted  first,  and  then  proceed  to  any  other  that  may 
be  thought  necessary." 

An  additional  commission,  of  a  different  kind,  was 
intrusted  to  George  Croghan.  Governor  Morris  by 
letter  requested  him  to  convene  at  Aughquick,  in  Penn- 

*  Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.,  p.  368. 


164  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755, 

sylvania,  as  many  warriors  as  possible  of  the  mixed 
tribes  of  the  Ohio,  distribute  among  them  wampum 
belts  sent  for  the  purpose,  and  engage  them  to  meet 
General  Braddock  when  on  the  march,  and  render  him 
all  the  assistance  in  their  power. 

In  reply,  Croghan  engaged  to  enlist  a  strong  body 
of  Indians,  being  sure  of  the  influence  of  Scarooyadi, 
successor  to  the  half-king,  and  of  his  adjunct,  White 
Thunder,  keeper  of  the  speech-belts.*  At  the  instance 
of  Governor  Morris,  Croghan  secured  the  services  of 
another  kind  of  force.  This  was  a  band  of  hunters, 
resolute  men,  well  acquainted  with  the  country,  and  in- 
ured to  hardships.  They  were  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Jack,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characters  of 
Pennsylvania ;  a  complete  hero  of  the  wilderness.  He 
had  been  for  many  years  a  captive  among  the  Indians ; 
and,  having  learnt  their  ways,  had  formed  this  associa- 
tion for  the  protection  of  the  settlements,  receiving  a 
commission  of  captain  from  the  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  band  had  become  famous  for  its  exploits, 
and  was  a  terror  to  the  Indians.  Captain  Jack  was 
at  present  protecting  the  settlements  on  the  Canoco- 
cheague ;  but  promised  to  march  by  a  circuitous  route 
and  join  Braddock  with  his  hunters.  "  They  require  no 
shelter  for  the  night,"  writes  Croghan ;  "  they  ask  no 
pay.  If  the  whole  army  was  composed  of  such  men 
there  would  be  no  cause  of  apprehension.  I  shall  bo 
with  them  in  time  for  duty/'f 


*  Colonial  Records,  toL  vi.,  p.  375. 

f  Hazard's  Register  of  Penn.,  voL  iv.,  p.  416. 


1755.]  CAPTAIN    JACK   AND    HIS   BAND.  165 


NOTE. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter,  dated  August,  1750,  gives  one  of 
the  stories  relative  to  this  individual : 

"The  *  Black  Hunter,'  the  'Black  Rifle,'  the  'Wild  Hunter  ot 
Juniata,'  is  a  white  man ;  his  history  is  this :  He  entered  the  woods 
with  a  few  enterprising  companions ;  huilt  his  cabin ;  cleared  a  littlo 
land,  and  amused  himself  with  the  pleasures  of  fishing  and  hunting. 
He  felt  happy,  for  then  he  had  not  a  care.  But  on  an  evening,  when 
he  returned  from  a  day  of  sport,  he  found  his  cabin  burnt,  his  wife 
and  children  murdered.  From  that  moment  he  forsakes  civilized 
man  ;  hunts  out  caves,  in  which  he  lives ;  protects  the  frontier  inhab- 
itants from  the  Indians;  and  seizes  every  opportunity  of  revenge 
that  offers.  He  lives  the  terror  of  the  Indians  and  the  consolation  of 
the  whites.  On  one  occasion,  near  Juniata,  in  the  middle  of  a  dark 
night,  a  family  were  suddenly  awaked  from  sleep  by  the  report  of  a 
gun;  they  jump  from  their  hut,  and  by  the  glimmering  light  from 
the  chimney  saw  an  Indian  fall  to  rise  no  more.  The  open  door  ex- 
posed to  view  the  wild  hunter.  *  I  have  saved  your  lives,'  he  cried, 
then  turned  and  was  buried  in  the  gloom  of  night." — Hazard's  Register 
ofPenn.,  vol.  iv.,  389. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


WASHINGTON  PEOCLAIMED  AIDE-DE-CAMP — DISAPPOINTMENTS  AT  FEED* 
ERICKTOWN — BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  AND  BRADDOCK — CONTEAOTS — DE- 
PARTURE FOR  "WILLS'  CREEK— ROUGH  ROADS — THE    GENERAL    IN    HIS 

CHARIOT — CAMP  AT  FORT  CUMBERLAND HUGH  MERCER — DR.    CRAIK 

— MILITARY  TACTICS — CAMP  RULES — SECRETARY  PETERS — INDIANS 
IN  CAMP — INDIAN  BEAUTIES — THE  PRINCESS  BRIGHT  LIGHTNING ER- 
RAND TO  "WILLIAMSBURG — BRADDOOk's  OPINION  OF  CONTRACTORS 
AND  INDIANS — ARRIVAL  OF  CONVEYANCES. 


General  Braddock  set  out  from  Alexandria  on  the 
20th  of  April.  Washington  remained  behind  a  few 
days  to  arrange  his  affairs,  and  then  rejoined  him  at 
Fredericktown,  in  Maryland,  where,  on  the  10th  of 
May,  he  was  proclaimed  one  of  the  general's  aides-de- 
camp. The  troubles  of  Braddock  had  already  com- 
menced. The  Virginian  contractors  failed  to  fulfil 
their  engagements ;  of  all  the  immense  means  of  trans- 
portation so  confidently  promised,  but  fifteen  waggons 
and  a  hundred  draft-horses  had  arrived,  and  there  was 
no  prospect  of  more.  There  was  equal  disappoint- 
ment in  provisions,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality ; 
and  he  had  to  send  round  the  country  to  buy  cattle  for 
the  subsistence  of  the  troops. 


1755.]  BRADDOCK  AND  FRANKLIN.  167 

Fortunately,  while  the  general  was  venting  his 
spleen  in  anathemas  against  army  contractors,  Benja- 
min Franklin  arrived  at  Fredericktown.  That  eminent 
man,  then  about  forty-nine  years  of  age,  had  been  for 
many  years  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly, 
and  was  now  postmaster-general  for  America.  The 
Assembly  understood  that  Braddock  was  incensed 
against  them,  supposing  them  adverse  to  the  service  of 
the  war.  They  had  procured  Franklin  to  wait  upon 
him,  not  as  if  sent  by  them,  but  as  if  he  came  in  his 
capacity  of  postmaster-general,  to  arrange  for  the  sure 
and  speedy  transmission  of  despatches  between  the 
commander-in-chief  and  the  governors  of  the  provinces. 

He  was  well  received,  and  became  a  daily  guest  at 
the  general's  table.  In  his  autobiography,  he  gives  us 
an  instance  of  the  blind  confidence  and  fatal  prejudices 
by  which  Braddock  was  deluded  throughout  this  expe- 
dition. "  In  conversation  with  him  one  day,"  writes 
Franklin,  "he  was  giving  me  some  account  of  his  in- 
tended progress.  '  After  taking  Fort  Duquesne,'  said 
he,  '  I  am  to  proceed  to  Niagara ;  and,  having  taken 
that,  to  Frontenac,  if  the  season  will  allow  time ;  and 
I  suppose  it  will,  for  Duquesne  can  hardly  detain  me 
above  three  or  four  days  :  and  then  I  can  see  nothing 
that  can  obstruct  my  march  to  Niagara.' 

"  Having  before  revolved  in  my  mind,"  continues 
Franklin,  "the  long  line  his  army  must  make  in  their 
march  by  a  very  narrow  road,  to  be  cut  for  them 
through  the  woods  and  bushes,  and  also  what  I  had 
heard  of  a  former  defeat  of  fifteen  hundred  French, 
who  invaded  the  Illinois  country,  I  had  conceived  some 
doubts  and  some  fears  for  the  event  of  the  campaign  ; 


168  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

but  I  ventured  only  to  say,  *  To  be  sure,  sir,  if  you  ar- 
rive well  before  Duquesne  with  these  fine  troops,  so 
well  provided  with  artillery,  the  fort,  though  complete- 
ly fortified,  and  assisted  with  a  very  strong  garrison, 
can  probably  make  but  a  short  resistance.  The  only 
danger  I  apprehend  of  obstruction  to  your  march,  is 
from  the  ambuscades  of  the  Indians,  who,  by  constant 
practice,  are  dexterous  in  laying  and  executing  them ; 
and  the  slender  line,  nearly  four  miles  long,  which 
your  army  must  make,  may  expose  it  to  be  attacked 
by  surprise  on  its  flanks,  and  to  be  cut  like  thread 
into  several  pieces,  which,  from  their  distance,  cannot 
come  up  in  time  to  support  one  another/ 

"  He  smiled  at  my  ignorance,  and  replied :  '  These 
savages  may  indeed  be  a  formidable  enemy  to  raw 
American  militia,  but  upon  the  king's  regular  and  dis- 
ciplined troops,  sir,  it  is  impossible  they  should  make 
an  impression.'  I  was  conscious  of  an  impropriety  in 
my  disputing  with  a  military  man  in  matters  of  his 
profession,  and  said  no  more."  * 

As  the  whole  delay  of  the  army  was  caused  by  the 
want  of  conveyances,  Franklin  observed  one  day  to  the 
general,  that  it  was  a  pity  the  troops  had  not  been 
landed  in  Pennsylvania,  where  almost  every  farmer  had 
his  waggon.  "Then,  sir,"  replied  Braddock,  "you, 
who  are  a  man  of  interest  there,  can  probably  procure 
them  for  me,  and  I  beg  you  will."  Franklin  consent- 
ed. An  instrument  in  writing  was  drawn  up,  empow- 
ering him  to  contract  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  wag- 
gons, with  four  horses  to  each  waggon,  and  fifteen  hun- 

*  Autobiography  of  Franklin.     Sparks'  Edition,  p.  190. 


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1755.J     the  general's  travelling  chariot.        169 

dred  saddle  or  packhorses  for  the  service  of  his  maj- 
esty's forces,  to  be  at  Wills'  Creek  on  or  before  the 
20th  of  May,  and  he  promptly  departed  for  Lancaster 
to  execute  the  commission. 

After  his  departure,  Braddock,  attended  by  his 
staff,  and  his  guard  of  light  horse,  set  off  for  Wills' 
Creek  by  the  way  of  Winchester,  the  road  along  the 
north  side  of  the  Potomac  not  being  yet  made.  "  This 
gave  him,"  writes  Washington,  "  a  good  opportunity 
to  see  the  absurdity  of  the  route,  and  of  damning  it 
very  heartily."  * 

Three  of  Washington's  horses  were  knocked  up  be- 
fore they  reached  Winchester,  and  he  had  to  purchase 
others.  This  was  a  severe  drain  of  his  campaigning 
purse ;  fortunately,  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Greenway  Court,  and  was  enabled  to  replenish  it  by  a 
loan  from  his  old  friend  Lord  Fairfax. 

The  discomforts  of  the  rough  road  were  increased 
with  the  general,  by  his  travelling  with  some  degree  of 
state  in  a  chariot  which  he  had  purchased  of  Governor 
Sharpe.  In  this  he  dashed  by  Dunbar's  division  of 
the  troops,  which  he  overtook  near  Wills'  Creek ;  his 
body  guard  of  light  horse  galloping  on  each  side  of  his 
chariot,  and  his  staff  accompanying  him ;  the  drums 
beating  the  Grenadier's  march  as  he  passed.  In  this 
style,  too,  he  arrived  at  Port  Cumberland,  amid  a  thun- 
dering salute  of  seventeen  guns.f 

By  this  time  the  general  discovered  that  he  was  not 
in  a  region  fitted  for  such  display,  and  his  travelling 

*  Draft  of  a  letter,  among  Washington's  papers,  addressed  to  Major  John 
Carlyle. 

|  Journal  of  the  Seamen's  detachment. 


170  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

chariot  was  abandoned  at  Fort  Cumberland;  other- 
wise it  would  soon  have  become  a  wreck  among  the 
mountains  beyond. 

By  the  19th  of  May,  the  forces  were  assembled  at 
Fort  Cumberland.  The  two  royal  regiments,  original- 
ly one  thousand  strong,  now  increased  to  fourteen  hun- 
dred, by  men  chosen  from  the  Maryland  and  Virginia 
levies.  Two  provincial  companies  of  carpenters,  or 
pioneers,  thirty  men  each,  with  subalterns  and  cap- 
tains. A  company  of  guides,  composed  of  a  captain, 
two  aids,  and  ten  men.  The  troop  of  Virginia  light 
horse,  commanded  by  Captain  Stewart ;  the  detach- 
ment of  thirty  sailors  with  their  officers,  and  the  rem- 
nants of  two  independent  companies  from  New  York, 
one  of  which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Horatio 
Gates,  of  whom  we  shall  have  to  speak  much  hereafter, 
in  the  course  of  this  biography. 

Another  person  in  camp,  of  subsequent  notoriety, 
and  who  became  a  warm  friend  of  Washington,  was 
Dr.  Hugh  Mercer,  a  Scotchman,  about  thirty-three 
years  of  age.  About  ten  years  previously  he  had 
served  as  assistant  surgeon  in  the  forces  of  Charles  Ed- 
ward, and  followed  his  standard  to  the  disastrous 
field  of  Culloden.  After  the  defeat  of  the  "cheva- 
lier," Mercer  had  escaped  by  the  way  of  Inverness  to 
America,  and  taken  up  his  residence  in  Virginia.  He 
was  now  with  the  Virginia  troops,  rallying  under  the 
standard  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  in  an  expedition 
led  by  a  general  who  had  aided  to  drive  the  chevalier 
from  Scotland.* 

*  Braddock  had  been  an  officer  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  in  his 
campaign  against  Charles  Edward. 


1755.  J  DR.    CRAIK.  171 

Another  young  Scotchman  in  the  camp  was  Dr. 
James  Craik,  who  had.  become  strongly  attached  to 
Washington,  being  about  the  same  age,  and  having 
been  with  him  in  the  affair  of  the  Great  Meadows, 
serving  as  surgeon  in  the  Virginia  regiment,  to  which 
he  still  belonged. 

At  Port  Cumberland,  Washington  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  a  force  encamped  according  to  the  plan 
approved  of  by  the  council  of  war ;  and  military  tac- 
tics, enforced  with  all  the  precision  of  a  martinet. 

The  roll  of  each  company  was  called  over  morning, 
noon,  and  night.  There  was  strict  examination  of 
arms  and  accoutrements;  the  commanding  officer  of 
each  company  being  answerable  for  their  being  kept  in 
good  order. 

The  general  was  very  particular  in  regard  to  the 
appearance  and  drill  of  the  Virginia  recruits  and  com- 
panies, whom  he  had  put  under  the  rigorous  discipline 
of  Ensign  Allen.  "  They  performed  their  evolutions 
and  firings,  as  well  as  could  be  expected,"  writes  Cap- 
tain Orme,  "but  their  languid,  spiritless,  and  unsol- 
dier-like  appearance,  considered  with  the  lowness  and 
ignorance  of  most  of  their  officers,  gave  little  hopes  of 
their  future  good  behavior."*  He  doubtless  echoed 
the  opinion  of  the  general ;  how  completely  were  both 
to  be  undeceived  as  to  their  estimate  of  these  troops  ! 

The  general  held  a  levee  in  his  tent  every  morning, 
from  ten  to  eleven.  He  was  strict  as  to  the  morals  of 
the  camp.  Drunkenness  was  severely  punished.  A 
soldier  convicted  of  theft  was  sentenced  to  receive  one 

*  Orme's  Journal. 


172  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

thousand  lashes,  and  to  be  drummed  out  of  his  regi- 
ment. Part  of  the  first  part  of  the  sentence  was  re- 
mitted. Divine  service  was  performed  every  Sunday, 
at  the  head  of  the  colors  of  each  regiment,  by  the 
chaplain.  There  was  the  funeral  of  a  captain  who 
died  at  this  encampment.  A  captain's  guard  marched 
before  the  corpse,  the  captain  of  it  in  the  rear,  the 
firelocks  reversed,  the  drums  beating  the  dead  march. 
When  near  the  grave,  the  guard  formed  two  lines,  fa- 
cing each  other ;  rested  on  their  arms,  muzzles  down- 
wards, and  leaned  their  faces  on  the  butts.  The  corpse 
was  carried  between  them,  the  sword  and  sash  on  the 
coffin,  and  the  officers  following  two  and  two.  After 
the  chaplain  of  the  regiment  had  read  the  service,  the 
guard  fired  three  volleys  over  the  grave,  and  returned.* 

Braddock's  camp,  in  a  word,  was  a  complete  study 
for  Washington,  during  the  halt  at  Port  Cumberland, 
where  he  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  military  routine 
in  its  strictest  forms.  He  had  a  specimen,  too,  of  con- 
vivial life  in  the  camp,  which  the  general  endeavored 
to  maintain,  even  in  the  wilderness,  keeping  a  hospita- 
ble table ;  for  he  is  said  to  have  been  somewhat  of  a 
bon  vivant,  and  to  have  had  with  him  "  two  good  cooks, 
who  could  make  an  excellent  ragout  out  of  a  pair  of 
boots,  had  they  but  materials  to  toss  them  up  with."f 

There  was  great  detention  at  the  fort,  caused  by  the 
want  of  forage  and  supplies,  the  road  not  having  been 
finished  from  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Richard  Peters,  the 
secretary  of  Governor  Morris,  was  in  camp,  to  attend 
to  the  matter.     He  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  Brad- 

*  Orme's  Journal.    Journal  of  the  Seamen's  detachment 
f  Preface  to  Winthrop  Sargent's  Introductory  Memoir. 


1755.]  SECRETARY   PETERS.  173 

dock's  complaints.  The  general  declared  he  would  not 
stir  from  Wills'  Creek  until  he  had  the  governor's  as- 
surance that  the  road  would  be  opened  in  time.  Mr. 
Peters  requested  guards  to  protect  the  men  while  at 
work,  from  attacks  by  the  Indians.  Braddock  swore 
he  would  not  furnish  guards  for  the  woodcutters, — 
"  let  Pennsylvania  do  it ! "  He  scoffed  at  the  talk 
about  danger  from  Indians.  Peters  endeavored  to 
make  him  sensible  of  the  peril  which  threatened  him  in 
this  respect.  Should  an  army  of  them,  led  by  Prench 
officers,  beset  him  on  his  march,  he  would  not  be  able, 
with  all  his  strength  and  military  skill,  to  reach  Port 
Duquesne  without  a  body  of  rangers,  as  well  on  foot 
as  horseback.  The  general,  however,  "  despised  his 
observations."  *  Still,  guards  had  ultimately  to  be 
provided,  or  the  work  on  the  road  would  have  been 
abandoned. 

Braddock,  in  fact,  was  completely  chagrined  and 
disappointed  about  the  Indians.  The  Cherokees  and 
Catawbas,  whom  Dinwiddie  had  given  him  reason  to 
expect  in  such  numbers,  never  arrived. 

George  Croghan  reached  the  camp  with  but  about  fifty 
warriors,  whom  he  had  brought  from  Aughquick.  At 
the  general's  request  he  sent  a  messenger  to  invite  the 
Delawares  and  Shawnees  from  the  Ohio,  who  returned 
with  two  chiefs  of  the  former  tribe.  Among  the  sa- 
chems thus  assembled  were  some  of  Washington's  for- 
mer allies ;  Scarooyadi,  alias,  Monacatoocha,  successor 
to  the  half-king ;  White  Thunder,  the  keeper  of  the 
speech-belts,  and  Silver  Heels,  so  called,  probably,  from 
being  swift  of  foot. 

*  Colonial  Records,  vi.,  396. 


174  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755 

Notwithstanding  his  secret  contempt  for  the  In- 
dians, Braddock,  agreeably  to  his  instructions,  treated 
them  with  great  ceremony.  A  grand  council  was  held 
in  his  tent,  where  all  his  officers  attended.  The  chiefs, 
and  all  the  warriors,  came  painted  and  decorated  for 
war.  They  were  received  with  military  honors,  the 
guards  resting  on  their  fire-arms.  The  general  made 
them  a  speech  through  his  interpreter,  expressing  the 
grief  of  their  father,  the  great  king  of  England,  at  the 
death  of  the  half-king,  and  made  them  presents  to  con- 
sole them.  They  in  return  promised  their  aid  as  guides 
and  scouts,  and  declared  eternal  enmity  to  the  French, 
following  the  declaration  with  the  war  song,  "  making 
a  terrible  noise." 

The  general,  to  regale  and  astonish  them,  ordered 
all  the  artillery  to  be  fired,  "  the  drums  and  fifes  play- 
ing and  beating  the  point  of  war ; "  the  fete  ended  by 
their  feasting,  in  their  own  camp,  on  a  bullock  which 
the  general  had  given  them,  following  up  their  repast 
by  dancing  the  war  dance  round  a  fire,  to  the  sound  of 
their  uncouth  drums  and  rattles,  "  making  night  hid- 
eous," by  howls  and  yellings. 

"  I  have  engaged  between  forty  and  fifty  Indians 
from  the  frontiers  of  your  province,  to  go  over  the 
mountains  with  me,"  writes  Braddock  to  Governor 
Morris,  "  and  shall  take  Croghan  and  Montour  into  ser- 
vice." Croghan  was,  in  effect,  put  in  command  of  the 
Indians,  and  a  warrant  given  to  him  of  captain. 

For  a  time  all  went  well.  The  Indians  had  their 
separate  camp,  where  they  passed  half  the  night  sing- 
ing, dancing,  and  howling.  The  British  were  amused 
by  their  strange  ceremonies,  their  savage  antics,  and 


1755.)  INDIAN   BEAUTIES.  175 

savage  decorations.  The  Indians,  on  the  other  hand, 
loitered  by  day  abont  the  English  camp,  fiercely  paint- 
ed and  arrayed,  gazing  with  silent  admiration  at  the 
parade  of  the  troops,  their  marchings  and  evolutions ; 
and  delighted  with  the  horse-races,  with  which  the 
young  officers  recreated  themselves. 

Unluckily  the  warriors  had  brought  their  families 
with  them  to  Wills'  Creek,  and  the  women  were  even 
fonder  than  the  men  of  loitering  about  the  British 
camp.  They  were  not  destitute  of  attractions ;  for  the 
young  squaws  resemble  the  gypsies,  having  seductive 
forms,  small  hands  and  feet,  and  soft  voices.  Among 
those  who  visited  the  camp,  was  one  who  no  doubt 
passed  for  an  Indian  princess.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  the  sachem,  White  Thunder,  and  bore  the  dazzling 
name  of  Bright  Lightning.*  The  charms  of  these 
wild-wood  beauties  were  soon  acknowledged.  "  The 
squaws,"  writes  Secretary  Peters,  "  bring  in  money 
plenty ;  the  officers  are  scandalously  fond  of  them."t 

The  jealousy  of  the  warriors  was  aroused ;  some 
of  them  became  furious.  To  prevent  discord,  the 
squaws  were  forbidden  to  come  into  the  British  camp. 
This  did  not  prevent  their  being  sought  elsewhere.  It 
was  ultimately  found  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  quiet, 
to  send  Bright  Lightning,  with  all  the  other  women 
and  children,  back  to  Aughquick.  White  Thunder, 
and  several  of  the  warriors,  accompanied  them  for  their 
protection. 

As  to  the  three  Delaware  chiefs,  they  returned  to 
the  Ohio,  promising  the  general  they  would    collect 

*  Seamen's  Journal 

f  Letter  of  Peters  to  Governor  Morris. 


176  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

their  warriors  together,  and  meet  him  on  his  march 
They  never  kept  their  word.  "  These  people  are  vil- 
lains, and  always  side  with  the  strongest,"  says  a  shrewd 
journalist  of  the  expedition. 

During  the  halt  of  the  troops  at  Wills'  Creek, 
Washington  had  been  sent  to  Williamsburg  to  bring 
on  four  thousand  pounds  for  the  military  chest.  He 
returned  after  a  fortnight's  absence,  escorted  from 
Winchester  by  eight  men,  "  which  eight  men,"  writes 
he,  "  were  two  days  assembling,  but  I  believe  would 
not  have  been  more  than  as  many  seconds  dispersing 
if  I  had  been  attacked." 

He  found  the  general  out  of  all  patience  and  temper 
at  the  delays  and  disappointments  in  regard  to  horses, 
waggons,  and  forage,  making  no  allowances  for  the 
difficulties  incident  to  a  new  country,  and  to  the  novel 
and  great  demands  upon  its  scanty  and  scattered  re- 
sources. He  accused  the  army  contractors  of  want  of 
faith,  honor,  and  honesty ;  and  in  his  moments  of  pas- 
sion, which  were  many,  extended  the  stigma  to  the  whole 
country.  This  stung  the  patriotic  sensibility  of  Wash- 
ington, and  overcame  his  usual  self-command,  and  the 
proud  and  passionate  commander  was  occasionally  sur- 
prised by  a  well-merited  rebuke  from  his  aide-de-camp. 
"  We  have  frequent  disputes  on  this  head,"  writes  Wash- 
ington, "  which  are  maintained  with  warmth  on  both 
sides,  especially  on  his ;  as  he  is  incapable  of  arguing 
without  it,  or  of  giving  up  any  point  he  asserts,  be  it 
ever  so  incompatible  with  reason  or  common  sense." 

The  same  pertinacity  was  maintained  with  respect 
to  the  Indians.  George  Croghan  informed  Washing- 
ton that  the  sachems  considered  themselves  treated  with 


1755.]  INDIAN    SERVICES    REJECTED.  177 

slight,  in  never  being  consulted  in  war  matters.  That 
he  himself  had  repeatedly  offered  the  services  of  the 
warriors  under  his  command  as  scouts  and  outguards, 
but  his  offers  had  been  rejected.  Washington  ven- 
tured to  interfere,  and  to  urge  their  importance  for  such 
purposes,  especially  now  when  they  were  approaching 
the  stronghold  of  the  enemy.  As  usual,  the  general 
remained  bigoted  in  his  belief  of  the  all-sufficiency  of 
well-disciplined  troops. 

Either  from  disgust  thus  caused,  or  from  being  ac- 
tually dismissed,  the  warriors  began  to  disappear  from 
the  camp.  It  is  said  that  Colonel  Innes,  who  was  to 
remain  in  command  at  Port  Cumberland,  advised  the 
dismissal  of  all  but  a  few  to  serve  as  guides ;  certain  it 
is,  before  Braddock  recommenced  his  march,  none  re- 
mained to  accompany  him  but  Scarooyadi,  and  eight 
of  his  warriors.* 

Seeing  the  general's  impatience  at  the  non-arrival 
of  conveyances,  Washington  again  represented  to  him 
the  difficulties  he  would  encounter  in  attempting  to 
traverse  the  mountains  with  such  a  train  of  wheel-car- 
riages, assuring  him  it  would  be  the  most  arduous  part 
of  the  campaign;  and  recommended,  from  his  own 
experience,  the  substitution,  as  much  as  possible,  of 
packhorses.  Braddock,  however,  had  not  been  suffi- 
ciently harassed  by  frontier  campaigning,  to  depart 

*  Braddock's  own  secretary,  William  Shirley,  was  disaffected  to  him. 
Writing  about  him  to  Governor  Morris,  he  satirically  observes :  "  We  have 
a  general  most  judiciously  chosen  for  being  disqualified  for  the  service  ho 
is  employed  in,  in  almost  every  respect."  And  of  the  secondary  officers : 
"  As  to  them,  I  don't  think  we  have  much  to  boast.  Some  are  insolent  and 
ignorant ;  others  capable,  but  rather  aiming  at  showing  their  own  abilities 
than  making  a  proper  use  of  them." — Colonial  Records,  vi.,  405. 
VOL.  I. — 12 


178  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

from  his  European  modes,  or  to  be  swayed  in  his  mili- 
tary operations  by  so  green  a  counsellor. 

At  length  the  general  was  relieved  from  present 
perplexities  by  the  arrival  of  the  horses  and  waggons 
which  Franklin  had  undertaken  to  procure.  That  em- 
inent man,  with  his  characteristic  promptness  and  un- 
wearied exertions,  and  by  his  great  personal  popularity, 
had  obtained  them  from  the  reluctant  Pennsylvania 
farmers,  being  obliged  to  pledge  his  own  responsibility 
for  their  being  fully  remunerated.  He  performed  this 
laborious  task  out  of  pure  zeal  for  the  public  service, 
neither  expecting  nor  receiving  emolument;  and,  in 
fact,  experiencing  subsequently  great  delay  and  embar- 
rassment before  he  was  relieved  from  the  pecuniar}* 
responsibilities  thus  patriotically  incurred. 

The  arrival  of  the  conveyances  put  Braddock  in 
good  humor  with  Pennsylvania.  In  a  letter  to  Gover- 
nor Morris,  he  alludes  to  the  threat  of  Sir  John  St. 
Clair  to  go  through  that  province  with  a  drawn  sword 
in  his  hand.  "  He  is  ashamed  of  his  having  talked  to 
you  in  the  manner  he  did."  Still  the  general  made 
Franklin's  contract  for  waggons  the  sole  instance  in 
which  he  had  not  experienced  deceit  and  villany.  "  I 
hope,  however,  in  spite  of  all  this,"  adds  he,  "  that  we 
shall  pass  a  merry  Christmas  together." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

MAE  OH  FEOM  FOET  OUMBEBLAND THE  GEE  AT  SAVAGE  MOUNTAIN — CAMP 

AT  THE  LITTLE  MEADOWS — DIVISION  OF  THE  FOEOES — CAPTAIN  JACK 
AND  HIS  BAND — SOAEOOTADI  IN  DANGEE — ILLNESS  OF  WASHINGTON — 
HIS  HALT  AT  THE  YOUGHIOGENY — MAE  OH  OF  BEADDOCK — THE   GEEAT 

MEADOWS —  LUBKING    ENEMIES  —  THEIE     TE  ACKS PEECAUTIONS  — 

THICKETTY  EUN — SCOUTS — INDIAN  MUEDEES — FUNERAL  OF  AN  INDIAN 
WAEEIOE — OAMP  ON  THE  MONONGAHELA — WASHINGTON'S  AEEIVAL 
THEEE — MAECH  FOE  FOET  DUQUESNE — THE  FOEDING  OF  THE  MONON- 
GAHELA— THE  BATTLE — THE  EETEEAT — DEATH  OF  BEADDOCK. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  Braddock  set  off  from  Fort 
Cumberland  with  his  aides-de-camp,  and  others  of  his 
staff,  and  his  body  guard  of  light  horse.  Sir  Peter 
Halket,  with  his  brigade,  had  marched  three  days  pre- 
viously ;  and  a  detachment  of  six  hundred  men,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Chapman,  and  the  supervision 
of  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  had  been  employed  upwards  of 
ten  days  in  cutting  down  trees,  removing  rocks,  and 
opening  a  road. 

The  march  over  the  mountains  proved,  as  Wash- 
ington had  foretold,  a  "  tremendous  undertaking."  It 
was  with  difficulty  the  heavily  laden  waggons  could  be 
dragged  up  the  steep  and  rugged  roads,  newly  made, 
or  imperfectly  repaired.     Often  they  extended  for  three 


180  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

or  four  miles  in  a  straggling  and  broken  line,  with  the 
soldiers  so  dispersed,  in  guarding  them,  that  an  attack 
on  any  side  would  have  thrown  the  whole  in  confusion. 
It  was  the  dreary  region  of  the  great  Savage  Mountain, 
and  the  "  Shades  of  Death  "  that  was  again  made  to 
echo  with  the  din  of  arms. 

What  outraged  Washington's  notions  of  the  abste- 
mious frugality  suitable  to  campaigning  in  the  "  back- 
woods," was  the  great  number  of  horses  and  waggons 
required  by  the  officers  for  the  transportation  of  their 
baggage,  camp  equipage,  and  a  thousand  articles  of  ar- 
tificial necessity.  Simple  himself  in  his  tastes  and  hab- 
its, and  manfully  indifferent  to  personal  indulgences, 
he  almost  doubted  whether  such  sybarites  in  the  camp 
could  be  efficient  in  the  field. 

By  the  time  the  advanced  corps  had  struggled 
over  two  mountains,  and  through  the  intervening  for- 
est, and  reached  (16th  June)  the  Little  Meadows, 
where  Sir  John  St.  Clair  had  made  a  temporary  camp, 
General  Braddock  had  become  aware  of  the  difference 
between  campaigning  in  a  new  country,  or  on  the  old 
well  beaten  battle-grounds  of  Europe.  He  now,  of 
his  own  accord,  turned  to  Washington  for  advice, 
though  it  must  have  been  a  sore  trial  to  his  pride  to 
seek  it  of  so  young  a  man ;  but  he  had  by  this  time 
sufficient  proof  of  his  sagacity,  and  his  knowledge  of 
the  frontier. 

Thus  unexpectedly  called  on,  Washington  gave  his 
counsel  with  becoming  modesty,  but  with  his  accustomed 
clearness.  There  was  just  now  an  opportunity  to 
strike  an  effective  blow  at  Port  Duquesne,  but  it  might 
be  lost  by  delay.     The  garrison,  according  to  credible 


1755.]  DIVISION    Of   THE    FORCES.  181 

reports,  was  weak ;  large  reinforcements  and  supplies, 
which  were  on  their  way,  would  be  detained  by  the 
drought,  which  rendered  the  river  by  which  they  must 
come  low  and  unnavigable.  The  blow  must  be  struck 
before  they  could  arrive.  He  advised  the  general, 
therefore,  to  divide  his  forces  ;  leave  one  part  to  come 
on  with  the  stores  and  baggage,  and  all  the  cumbrous 
appurtenances  of  an  army,  and  to  throw  himself  in  the 
advance  with  the  other  part,  composed  of  his  choicest 
troops,  lightened  of  every  thing  superfluous  that  might 
impede  a  rapid  march. 

His  advice  was  adopted.  Twelve  hundred  men, 
selected  out  of  all  the  companies,  and  furnished  with 
ten  field-pieces,  were  to  form  the  first  division,  their 
provisions,  and  other  necessaries,  to  be  carried  on  pack- 
horses.  The  second  division,  with  all  the  stores,  mu- 
nitions, and  heavy  baggage,  was  to  be  brought  on  by 
Colonel  Dunbar. 

The  least  practicable  part  of  the  arrangement  was 
with  regard  to  the  officers  of  the  advance.  Washing- 
ton had  urged  a  retrenchment  of  their  baggage  and 
camp  equipage,  that  as  many  of  their  horses  as  possi- 
ble might  be  used  as  packhorses.  Here  was  the  diffi- 
culty. Brought  up,  many  of  them,  in  fashionable  and 
luxurious  life,  or  the  loitering  indulgence  of  country 
quarters,  they  were  so  encumbered  with  what  they  con- 
sidered indispensable  necessaries,  that  out  of  two  hun- 
dred and  twelve  horses  generally  appropriated  to  their 
use,  not  more  than  a  dozen  could  be  spared  by  them 
for  the  public  service.  Washington,  in  his  own  case, 
acted  up  to  the  advice  he  had  given.  He  retained  no 
more  clothing  and  effects  with  him  than  would  about 


182  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755 

half  fill  a  portmanteau,  and  gave  up  his  best  steed  as 
a  packhorse, — which  he  never  heard  of  afterwards.* 

During  the  halt  at  the  Little  Meadows,  Captain 
Jack  and  his  band  of  forest  rangers,  whom  Croghan  had 
engaged  at  Governor  Morris's  suggestion,  made  their 
appearance  in  the  camp;  armed  and  equipped  with 
rifle,  knife,  hunting-shirts,  leggings  and  moccasins,  and 
looking  almost  like  a  band  of  Indians  as  they  issued 
from  the  woods. 

The  captain  asked  an  interview  with  the  general, 
by  whom,  it  would  seem,  he  was  not  expected.  Brad- 
dock  received  him  in  his  tent,  in  his  usual  stiff  and 
stately  manner.  The  "  Black  Rifle  "  spoke  of  himself 
and  his  followers  as  men  inured  to  hardships,  and  accus- 
tomed to  deal  with  Indians  who  preferred  stealth  and 
stratagem  to  open  warfare.  He  requested  his  compa- 
ny should  be  employed  as  a  reconnoitering  party,  to 
beat  up  the  Indians  in  their  lurking-places  and  ambus- 
cades. 

Braddock,  who  had  a  sovereign  contempt  for  the 
chivalry  of  the  woods,  and  despised  their  boasted  strat- 
egy, replied  to  the  hero  of  the  Pennsylvania  settle- 
ments in  a  manner  to  which  he  had  not  been  accus- 
tomed. "There  was  time  enough/'  he  said,  "for 
making  arrangements ;  and  he  had  experienced  troops, 
on  whom  he  could  completely  rely  for  all  purposes." 

Captain  Jack  withdrew,  indignant  at  so  haughty 
a  reception,  and  informed  his  leathern-clad  followers  of 
his  rebuff.  They  forthwith  shouldered  their  rifles, 
turned  their  backs  upon  the  camp,  and,  headed  by 

*  Letter  to  J.  Augustine  Washington.    Sparks,  ii.,  81. 


1755.]  A    SCIENTIFIC    MARCH.  183 

the  captain,  departed  in  Indian  file  through  the 
woods,  for  the  usual  scenes  of  their  exploits,  where 
men  knew  their  value,  the  banks  of  the  Juniata  or  the 
Conococheague.* 

On  the  19th  of  June  Braddock's  first  division  set 
out,  with  less  than  thirty  carriages,  including  those  that 
transported  ammunition  for  the  artillery,  all  strongly 
horsed.  The  Indians  marched  with  the  advanced 
party.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  Scarooyadi  and  his  son 
being  at  a  small  distance  from  the  line  of  march,  were 
surrounded  and  taken  by  some  French  and  Indians. 
His  son  escaped,  and  brought  intelligence  to  his  war- 
riors; they  hastened  to  rescue  or  revenge  him,  but 
found  him  tied  to  a  tree.  The  French  had  been  dis- 
posed to  shoot  him,  but  their  savage  allies  declared 
they  would  abandon  them  should  they  do  so :  having 
some  tie  of  friendship  or  kindred  with  the  chieftain, 
who  thus  rejoined  the  troops  unharmed. 

Washington  was  disappointed  in  his  anticipations 
of  a  rapid  march.  The  general,  though  he  had  adopt- 
ed his  advice  in  the  main,  could  not  carry  it  out  in  de- 
tail. His  military  education  was  in  the  way ;  bigoted 
to  the  regular  and  elaborate  tactics  of  Europe,  he  could 
not  stoop  to  the  make-shift  expedients  of  a  new  coun- 
try, where  every  difficulty  is  encountered  and  mastered 
in  a  rough-and-ready  style.  "  I  found,"  said  Wash- 
ington, "  that  instead  of  pushing  on  with  vigor,  with- 
out regarding  a  little  rough  road,  they  were  halting  to 

*  On  the  Conococheague  and  Juniata  are  left  the  history  of  their  ex- 
ploits. At  one  time  you  may  hear  of  the  band  near  Fort  Augusta,  next  at 
Fort  Franklin,  then  at  Loudon,  then  at  Juniata,— rapid  were  the  movements 
of  this  hardy  band.— Hazard? 8  Reg.  Penn.,  iv.,  390;  also,  v.,  194. 


184  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

level  every  mole  hill,  and  to  erect  bridges  over  every 
brook,  by  which  means  we  were  four  days  in  getting 
twelve  miles/' 

Por  several  days  Washington  had  suffered  from 
fever,  accompanied  by  intense  headache,  and  his  illness 
increased  in  violence  to  such  a  degree  that  he  was  una- 
ble to  ride,  and  had  to  be  conveyed  for  a  part  of  the 
time  in  a  covered  waggon.  His  illness  continued  with- 
out intermission  until  the  23d,  "  when  I  was  relieved," 
says  he,  "by  the  general's  absolutely  ordering  the 
physician  to  give  me  Dr.  James's  powders ;  one  of  the 
most  excellent  medicines  in  the  world.  It  gave  me 
immediate  relief,  and  removed  my  fever  and  other  com- 
plaints in  four  days'  time." 

He  was  still  unable  to  bear  the  jolting  of  the  wag- 
gon, but  it  needed  another  interposition  of  the  kindly 
intended  authority  of  General  Braddock,  to  bring  him 
to  a  halt  at  the  great  crossings  of  the  Youghiogeny. 
Here  the  general  assigned  him  a  guard,  provided  him 
with  necessaries,  and  requested  him  to  remain,  under 
care  of  his  physician,  Dr.  Craik,  until  the  arrival  of 
Colonel  Dunbar's  detachment,  which  was  two  days' 
march  in  the  rear ;  giving  him  his  word  of  honor  that 
he  should,  at  all  events,  be  enabled  to  rejoin  the  main 
division  before  it  reached  the  Trench  fort.* 

This  kind  solicitude  on  the  part  of  Braddock, 
shows  the  real  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  that 
officer.  Doctor  Craik  backed  the  general's  orders,  by 
declaring  that  should  Washington  persevere  in  his  at- 
tempts to  go  on  in  the  condition  he  then  was,  his  life 

•Letter  to  John  Augustine  Washington.     Sparks,  ii.,  80. 


1755.J  DESERTED    INDIAN    CAMP.  185 

would  be  in  danger.  Orme  also  joined  his  entreaties, 
and  promised,  if  he  would  remain,  he  would  keep  him 
informed  by  letter  of  every  occurrence  of  moment. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  kind  assurances  of  Brad- 
dock  and  his  aide-de-camp  Orme,  it  was  with  gloomy 
feelings  that  Washington  saw  the  troops  depart,  fearful 
he  might  not  be  able  to  rejoin  them  in  time  for  the  attack 
upon  the  fort,  which,  he  assured  his  brother  aide-de- 
camp, he  would  not  miss  for  five  hundred  pounds. 

Leaving  Washington  at  the  Youghiogeny,  we  will 
follow  the  march  of  Braddock.  In  the  course  of  the 
first  day  (June  24th),  he  came  to  a  deserted  Indian 
camp;  judging  from  the  number  of  wigwams,  there 
must  have  been  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  war- 
riors. Some  of  the  trees  about  it  had  been  stripped, 
and  painted,  with  threats,  and  bravadoes,  and  scurril- 
ous taunts  written  on  them  in  the  French  language, 
showing  that  there  were  white  men  with  the  sav- 
ages. 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak,  three  men  ventur- 
ing beyond  the  sentinels,  were  shot  and  scalped ;  par- 
ties were  immediately  sent  out  to  scour  the  woods,  and 
drive  in  the  stray  horses. 

The  day's  march  passed  by  the  Great  Meadows 
and  Fort  Necessity,  the  scene  of  Washington's  capitu- 
lation. Several  Indians  were  seen  hovering  in  the 
woods,  and  the  light  horse  and  Indian  allies  were  sent 
out  to  surround  them,  but  did  not  succeed.  In  cross- 
ing a  mountain  beyond  the  Great  Meadows,  the  car- 
riages had  to  be  lowered  with  the  assistance  of  the  sail- 
ors, by  means  of  tackle.  The  camp  for  the  night  was 
about  two  miles  beyond  Port  Necessity.    Several  French 


186  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

and  Indians  endeavored  to  reconnoitre  it,  but  were 
fired  upon  by  the  advanced  sentinels. 

The  following  day  (26th)  there  was  a  laborious 
march  of  but  four  miles,  owing  to  the  difficulties  of 
the  road.  The  evening  halt  was  at  another  deserted 
Indian  camp,  strongly  posted  on  a  high  rock,  with  a 
steep  and  narrow  ascent ;  it  had  a  spring  in  the  mid- 
dle, and  stood  at  the  termination  of  the  Indian  path  to 
the  Monongahela.  By  this  pass  the  party  had  come 
which  attacked  Washington  the  year  before,  in  the 
Great  Meadows.  The  Indians  and  French  too,  who 
were  hovering  about  the  army,  had  just  left  this  camp. 
The  fires  they  had  left  were  yet  burning.  The  French 
had  inscribed  their  names  on  some  of  the  trees  with 
insulting  bravadoes,  and  the  Indians  had  designated 
in  triumph  the  scalps  they  had  taken  two  days  previ- 
ously. A  party  was  sent  out  with  guides,  to  follow 
their  tracks  and  fall  on  them  in  the  night,  but  again 
without  success.  In  fact,  it  was  the  Indian  boast,  that 
throughout  this  march  of  Braddock,  they  saw  him 
every  day  from  the  mountains,  and  expected  to  be  able 
to  shoot  down  his  soldiers  "  like  pigeons." 

The  march  continued  to  be  toilful  and  difficult; 
on  one  day  it  did  not  exceed  two  miles,  having  to  cut 
a  passage  over  a  mountain.  In  cleaning  their  guns 
the  men  were  ordered  to  draw  the  charge,  instead  of 
firing  it  off.  No  fire  was  to  be  lighted  in  front  of  the 
pickets.  At  night  the  men  were  to  take  their  arms 
into  the  tents  with  them. 

Further  on,  the  precautions  became  still  greater. 
On  the  advanced  pickets  the  men  were  in  two  divisions, 
relieving  each  other  every  two  hours.     Half  remained 


1755.]  scouts.  187 

on  guard  with  fixed  bayonets,  the  other  half  lay  down 
by  their  arms.     The  picket  sentinels  were  doubled. 

On  the  4th  of  July  they  encamped  at  Thicketty 
Run.  The  country  was  less  mountainous  and  rocky, 
and  the  woods,  consisting  chiefly  of  white  pine,  were 
more  open.  The  general  now  supposed  himself  to  be 
within  thirty  miles  of  Tort  Duquesne.  Ever  since  his 
halt  at  the  deserted  camp  on  the  rock  beyond  the 
Great  Meadows,  he  had  endeavored  to  prevail  upon 
the  Croghan  Indians  to  scout  in  the  direction  of  the 
fort,  and  bring  him  intelligence,  but  never  could  suc- 
ceed. They  had  probably  been  deterred  by  the  num- 
ber of  French  and  Indian  tracks,  and  by  the  recent 
capture  of  Scarooyadi.  This  day,  however,  two  con- 
sented to  reconnoitre ;  and  shortly  after  their  depar- 
ture, Christopher  Gist,  the  resolute  pioneer,  who  acted 
as  guide  to  the  general,  likewise  set  off  as  a  scout. 

The  Indians  returned  on  the  6th.  They  had  been 
close  to  Port  Duquesne.  There  were  no  additional 
works  there  ;  they  saw  a  few  boats  under  the  fort,  and 
one  with  a  white  flag  coming  down  the  Ohio;  but 
there  were  few  men  to  be  seen,  and  few  tracks  of  any. 
They  came  upon  an  unfortunate  officer,  shooting  with- 
in half  a  mile  of  the  fort,  and  brought  a  scalp  as  a 
trophy  of  his  fate.  None  of  the  passes  between  the 
camp  and  fort  were  occupied;  they  believed  there 
were  few  men  abroad  reconnoitering. 

Gist  returned  soon  after  them.  His  account  cor- 
roborated theirs ;  but  he  had  seen  a  smoke  in  a  valley 
between  the  camp  and  the  fort,  made  probably  by 
some  scouting  party.  He  had  intended  to  prowl 
about  the  fort  at  night,  but  had  been  discovered,  and 


188  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

pursued  by  two  Indians,  and  narrowly  escaped  with 
his  life. 

On  the  same  day,  during  the  march,  three  or  four 
men  loitering  in  the  rear  of  the  grenadiers  were  killed 
and  scalped.  Several  of  the  grenadiers  set  off  to  take 
revenge.  They  came  upon  a  party  of  Indians,  who 
held  up  boughs  and  grounded  their  arms,  the  concerted 
sign  of  amity.  Not  perceiving  or  understanding  it, 
the  grenadiers  fired  upon  them,  and  one  fell.  It 
proved  to  be  the  son  of  Scarooyadi.  Aware  too  late 
of  their  error,  the  grenadiers  brought  the  body  to  the 
camp.  The  conduct  of  Braddock  was  admirable  on 
the  occasion.  He  sent  for  the  father  and  the  other 
Indians,  and  condoled  with  them  on  the  lamentable 
occurrence;  making  them  the  customary  presents  of 
expiation.  But  what  was  more  to  the  point,  he  caused 
the  youth  to  be  buried  with  the  honors  of  war ;  at  his 
request  the  officers  attended  the  funeral,  and  a  volley 
was  fired  over  the  grave. 

These  soldierlike  tributes  of  respect  to  the  deceased, 
and  sympathy  with  the  survivors,  soothed  the  feelings 
and  gratified  the  pride  of  the  father,  and  attached  him 
more  firmly  to  the  service.  We  are  glad  to  record  an 
anecdote  so  contrary  to  the  general  contempt  for  the 
Indians  with  which  Braddock  stands  charged.  It 
speaks  well  for  the  real  kindness  of  his  heart. 

We  will  return  now  to  Washington  in  his  sick  encamp- 
ment on  the  banks  of  the  Youghiogheny,  where  he  was 
left  repining  at  the  departure  of  the  troops  without 
him.  To  add  to  his  annoyances,  his  servant,  John 
Alton,  a  faithful  Welshman,  was  taken  ill  with  the 
same  malady,  and  unable  to  render  him  any  services. 


J  755.]  CAMP    OF   THE   MONONGAHELA.  189 

Letters  from  his  fellow  aides-de-camp  showed  him 
the  kind  solicitude  that  was  felt  concerning  him.  At 
the  general's  desire,  Captain  Morris  wrote  to  him, 
informing  him  of  their  intended  halts. 

"  It  is  the  desire  of  every  individual  in  the  family," 
adds  he,  "  and  the  general's  positive  commands  to  you, 
not  to  stir,  but  by  the  advice  of  the  person  [Dr.  Craik] 
under  whose  care  you  are,  till  you  are  better,  which  we 
all  hope  will  be  very  soon." 

Orme,  too,  according  to  promise,  kept  him  inform- 
ed of  the  incidents  of  the  inarch ;  the  frequent  night 
alarms,  and  occasional  scalping  parties.  The  night 
alarms  Washington  considered  mere  feints,  designed  to 
harass  the  men  and  retard  the  march ;  the  enemy,  he  was 
sure,  had  not  sufficient  force  for  a  serious  attack  j  and 
he  was  glad  to  learn  from  Orme  that  the  men  were  in 
high  spirits  and  confident  of  success. 

He  now  considered  himself  sufficiently  recovered  to 
rejoin  the  troops,  and  his  only  anxiety  was,  that  he 
should  not  be  able  to  do  it  in  time  for  the  great  blow. 
He  was  rejoiced,  therefore,  on  the  3d  of  July,  by  the 
arrival  of  an  advanced  party  of  one  hundred  men  con- 
voying provisions.  Being  still  too  weak  to  mount  his 
horse,  he  set  off  with  the  escort  in  a  covered  waggon  ; 
and  after  a  most  fatiguing  journey,  over  mountain  and 
through  forest,  reached  Braddock's  camp  on  the  8th 
of  July.  It  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  Monongahela, 
about  two  miles  from  the  river,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  town  of  Queen  Aliquippa,  and  about  fifteen  miles 
from  Fort  Duquesne. 

In  consequence  of  adhering  to  technical  rules  and 
military  forms,  General  Braddock   had   consumed    a 


190  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

month  in  marching  little  more  than  a  hundred  miles. 
The  tardiness  of  his  progress  was  regarded  with  sur- 
prise and  impatience  even  in  Europe ;  where  his  patron, 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  was  watching  the  events  of 
the  campaign  he  had  planned.  "  The  Duke,"  writes 
Horace  Walpole,  "  is  much  dissatisfied  at  the  slowness 
of  General  Braddock,  who  does  not  march  as  if  he  was 
at  all  impatient  to  be  scalped"  The  insinuation  of  the 
satirical  wit  was  unmerited.  Braddock  was  a  stranger 
to  fear ;  but  in  his  movements  he  was  fettered  by  sys- 
tem. 

Washington  was  warmly  received  on  his  arrival, 
especially  by  his  fellow  aides-de-camp,  Morris  and 
Orme.  He  was  just  in  time,  for  the  attack  upon  Port 
Duquesne  was  to  be  made  on  the  following  day.  The 
neighboring  country  had  been  reconnoitred  to  deter- 
mine upon  a  plan  of  attack.  The  fort  stood  on  the 
same  side  of  the  Monongahela  with  the  camp ;  but 
there  was  a  narrow  pass  between  them  of  about  two 
miles,  with  the  river  on  the  left  and  a  very  high  moun- 
tain on  the  right,  and  in  its  present  state  quite  impas- 
sable for  carriages.  The  route  determined  on  was  to 
cross  the  Monongahela  by  a  ford  immediately  opposite 
to  the  camp ;  proceed  along  the  west  bank  of  the  river, 
for  about  five  miles,  then  recross  by  another  ford  to 
the  eastern  side,  and  push  on  to  the  fort.  The  river 
at  these  fords  was  shallow,  and  the  banks  were  not 
steep. 

According  to  the  plan  of  arrangement,  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Gage,  with  the  advance,  was  to  cross  the  rivei 
before  daybreak,  march  to  the  second  ford,  and  re- 
crossing  there,  take  post  to  secure  the  passage  of  the 


1755.]  FORDING   OF   THE   MONONGAHELA.  191 

main  force.  The  advance  was  to  be  composed  of  two 
companies  of  grenadiers,  one  hundred  and  sixty  infan- 
try, the  independent  company  of  Captain  Horatio 
Gates,  and  two  six -pounders. 

Washington,  who  had  already  seen  enough  of 
regular  troops  to  doubt  their  infallibility  in  wild  bush- 
fighting,  and  who  knew  the  dangerous  nature  of  the 
ground  they  were  to  traverse,  ventured  to  suggest,  that 
on  the  following  day  the  Virginia  rangers,  being  accus- 
tomed to  the  country  and  to  Indian  warfare,  might  be 
thrown  in  the  advance.  The  proposition  drew  an 
angry  reply  from  the  general,  indignant,  very  proba- 
bly, that  a  young  provincial  officer  should  presume  to 
school  a  veteran  like  himself. 

Early  next  morning  (July  9th),  before  daylight, 
Colonel  Gage  crossed  with  the  advance.  He  was  fol- 
lowed, at  some  distance,  by  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  quar- 
termaster-general, with  a  working  party  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  to  make  roads  for  the  artillery  and  bag- 
gage. They  had  with  them  their  waggons  of  tools,  and 
two  six-pounders.  A  party  of  about  thirty  savages 
rushed  out  of  the  woods  as  Colonel  Gage  advanced, 
but  were  put  to  flight  before  they  had  done  any  harm. 

By  sunrise  the  main  body  turned  out  in  full  uni- 
form. At  the  beating  of  the  general,  their  arms, 
which  had  been  cleaned  the  night  before,  were  charged 
with  fresh  cartridges.  The  officers  were  perfectly 
equipped.  All  looked  as  if  arrayed  for  a  fete,  rather 
than  a  battle.  Washington,  who  was  still  weak  and 
unwell,  mounted  his  horse,  and  joined  the  staff  of  the 
general,  who  was  scrutinizing  every  thing  with  the  eye 
of  a  martinet.     As  it  was  supposed  the  enemy  would 


192  LIEE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

be  on  the  watch  for  the  crossing  of  the  troops,  it  had 
been  agreed  that  they  should  do  it  in  the  greatest  or- 
der, with  bayonets  fixed,  colors  flying,  and  drums  and 
fifes  beating  and  playing.*  They  accordingly  made  a 
gallant  appearance  as  they  forded  the  Monongahela, 
and  wound  along  its  banks,  and  through  the  open  forests, 
gleaming  and  glittering  in  morning  sunshine,  and  step- 
ping buoyantly  to  the  Grenadier's  march. 

Washington,  with  his  keen  and  youthful  relish  for 
military  affairs,  was  delighted  with  their  perfect  order 
and  equipment,  so  different  from  the  rough  bush-fight- 
ers, to  which  he  had  been  accustomed.  Roused  to 
new  life,  he  forgot  his  recent  ailments,  and  broke  forth 
in  expressions  of  enjoyment  and  admiration,  as  he  rode 
in  company  with  his  fellow  aides-de-camp,  Orme  and 
Morris.  Often,  in  after  life,  he  used  to  speak  of  the 
effect  upon  him  of  the  first  sight  of  a  well- disciplined 
European  army,  marching  in  high  confidence  and  bright 
array,  on  the  eve  of  a  battle. 

About  noon  they  reached  the  second  ford.  Gage 
with  the  advance,  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Mo- 
nongahela, posted  according  to  orders ;  but  the  river 
bank  had  not  been  sufficiently  sloped.  The  artillery 
and  baggage  drew  up  along  the  beach  and  halted  until 
one,  when  the  second  crossing  took  place,  drums  beat- 
ing, fifes  playing,  and  colors  flying,  as  before.  When 
all  had  passed,  there  was  again  a  halt  close  by  a  small 
stream  called  Irazier's  Run,  until  the  general  arranged 
the  order  of  march. 

First  went  the  advance,  under  Gage,  preceded  by 
the  engineers  and  guides,  and  six  light  horsemen. 

*  Orme's  Journal. 


1755.]  THE    BATTLE.  193 

Then,  Sir  John  St.  Clair  and  the  working  party, 
with  their  waggons  and  the  two  six-pounders.  On 
each  side  were  thrown  out  four  flanking  parties. 

Then,  at  some  distance,  the  general  was  to  follow 
with  the  main  body,  the  artillery  and  baggage  preceded 
and  flanked  by  light  horse  and  squads  of  infantry; 
while  the  Virginian,  and  other  provincial  troops,  were 
to  form  the  rear  guard. 

The  ground  before  them  was  level  until  about  half 
a  mile  from  the  river,  where  a  rising  ground,  covered 
with  long  grass,  low  bushes,  and  scattered  trees,  sloped 
gently  up  to  a  range  of  hills.  The  whole  country,  gen- 
erally speaking,  was  a  forest,  with  no  clear  opening 
but  the  road,  which  was  about  twelve  feet  wide,  and 
flanked  by  two  ravines,  concealed  by  trees  and  thickets. 

Had  Braddock  been  schooled  in  the  warfare  of  the 
woods,  or  had  he  adopted  the  suggestions  of  Washing- 
ton, which  he  rejected  so  impatiently,  he  would  have 
thrown  out  Indian  scouts  or  Virginia  rangers  in  the 
advance,  and  on  the  flanks,  to  beat  up  the  woods  and 
ravines;  but,  as  has  been  sarcastically  observed,  he 
suffered  his  troops  to  march  forward  through  the  centre 
of  the  plain,  with  merely  their  usual  guides  and  flank- 
ing parties,  "  as  if  in  a  review  in  St.  James's  Park." 

It  was  now  near  two  o'clock.  The  advanced  party 
and  the  working  party  had  crossed  the  plain  and  were 
ascending  the  rising  ground.  Braddock  was  about  to 
follow  with  the  main  body,  and  had  given  the  word  to 
march,  when  he  heard  an  excessively  quick  and  heavy 
firing  in  front.  Washington,  who  was  with  the  gen- 
eral, surmised  that  the  evil  he  had  apprehended  had 
come  to  pass.     For  want  of  scouting  parties  ahead  the 

VOL.  I. — 13 


194  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

advance  parties  were  suddenly  and  warmly  attacked. 
Braddock  ordered  Lieutenant-colonel  Burton  to  hasten 
to  their  assistance  with  the  vanguard  of  the  main 
body,  eight  hundred  strong.  The  residue,  four  hun- 
dred, were  halted,  and  posted  to  protect  the  artillery 
and  baggage. 

The  firing  continued,  with  fearful  yelling.  There 
was  a  terrible  uproar.  By  the  general's  orders  an  aide- 
de-camp  spurred  forward  to  bring  him  an  account  of 
the  nature  of  the  attack.  Without  waiting  for  his  re- 
turn the  general  himself,  rinding  the  turmoil  increase, 
moved  forward,  leaving  Sir  Peter  Halket  with  the 
command  of  the  baggage.* 

The  van  of  the  advance  had  indeed  been  taken  by 
surprise.  It  was  composed  of  two  companies  of  car- 
penters or  pioneers  to  cut  the  road,  and  two  flank  com- 
panies of  grenadiers  to  protect  them.  Suddenly  the 
engineer  who  preceded  them  to  mark  out  the  road 
gave  the  alarm,  "  French  and  Indians  !  "  A  body  of 
them  was  approaching  rapidly,  cheered  on  by  a 
Frenchman  in  gaily  fringed  hunting-shirt,  whose  gor- 
get showed  him  to  be  an  officer. 

There  was  sharp  firing  on  both  sides  at  first.  Sev- 
eral of  the  enemy  fell ;  among  them  their  leader ;  but  a 
murderous  fire  broke  out  from  among  trees  and  a  ra- 
vine on  the  right,  and  the  woods  resounded  with  un- 
earthly whoops  and  yellings.  The  Indian  rifle  was  at 
work,  levelled  by  unseen  hands.  Most  of  the  grena- 
diers and  many  of  the  pioneers  were  shot  down.  The 
survivors  were  driven  in  on  the  advance. 

Gage  ordered  his  men  to  fix  bayonets  and  form  in 

*  Orme's  Journal. 


1755.]  BUSH   FIGHTING.  195 

order  of  battle.  They  did  so  in  hurry  and  trepidation. 
He  would  have  scaled  a  hill  on  the  right  whence  there 
was  the  severest  firing.  Not  a  platoon  would  quit  the 
line  of  march.  They  were  more  dismayed  by  the  yells 
than  by  the  rifles  of  the  unseen  savages.  The  latter 
extended  themselves  along  the  hill  and  in  the  ravines ; 
but  their  whereabouts  was  only  known  by  their  de- 
moniac cries  and  the  puffs  of  smoke  from  their  rifles. 
The  soldiers  fired  wherever  they  saw  the  smoke.  Their 
officers  tried  in  vain  to  restrain  them  until  they  should 
see  their  foe.  All  orders  were  unheeded;  in  their 
fright  they  shot  at  random,  killing  some  of  their  own 
flanking  parties,  and  of  the  vanguard,  as  they  came 
running  in.  The  covert  fire  grew  more  intense.  In 
a  short  time  most  of  the  officers  and  many  of  the  men 
of  the  advance  were  killed  or  wounded.  Colonel  Gage 
himself  received  a  wound.  The  advance  fell  back  in 
dismay  upon  Sir  John  St.  Clair's  corps,  which  was 
equally  dismayed.  The  cannon  belonging  to  it  were 
deserted. 

Colonel  Burton  had  come  up  with  the  reinforce- 
ment, and  was  forming  his  men  to  face  the  rising 
ground  on  the  right,  when  both  of  the  advanced  de- 
tachments fell  back  upon  him,  and  all  now  was  confu- 
sion. 

By  this  time  the  general  was  upon  the  ground.  He 
tried  to  rally  the  men.  "They  would  fight,"  they 
said,  "  if  they  could  see  their  enemy ;  but  it  was  useless 
to  fire  at  trees  and  bushes,  and  they  could  not  stand  to 
be  shot  down  by  an  invisible  foe." 

The  colors  were  advanced  in  different  places  to  sep- 
arate the  men  of  the  two  regiments.     The  general  or- 


196  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  \l7ho. 

dered  the  officers  to  form  the  men,  tell  them  off  into 
small  divisions,  and  advance  with  them ;  but  the  sol- 
diers could  not  be  prevailed  upon  either  by  threats  or 
entreaties.  The  Virginia  troops,  accustomed  to  the 
Indian  mode  of  fighting,  scattered  themselves,  and 
took  post  behind  trees,  where  they  could  pick  off  the 
lurking  foe.  In  this  way  they,  in  some  degree,  pro- 
tected the  regulars.  Washington  advised  General 
Braddock  to  adopt  the  same  plan  with  the  regulars ; 
but  he  persisted  in  forming  them  into  platoons ;  con- 
sequently they  were  cut  down  from  behind  logs  and 
trees  as  fast  as  they  could  advance.  Several  attempted 
to  take  to  the  trees  without  orders,  but  the  general 
stormed  at  them,  called  them  cowards,  and  even  struck 
them  with  the  flat  of  his  sword.  Several  of  the  Vir- 
ginians, who  had  taken  post  and  were  doing  good 
service  in  this  manner,  were  slain  by  the  fire  of  the 
regulars,  directed  wherever  a  smoke  appeared  among 
the  trees. 

The  officers  behaved  with  consummate  bravery; 
and  Washington  beheld  with  admiration  those  who,  in 
camp  or  on  the  march,  had  appeared  to  him  to  have  an 
almost  effeminate  regard  for  personal  ease  and  conve- 
nience, now  exposing  themselves  to  imminent  death, 
with  a  courage  that  kindled  with  the  thickening  hor- 
rors. In  the  vain  hope  of  inspiriting  the  men  to  drive 
off  the  enemy  from  the  flanks  and  regain  the  cannon, 
they  would  dash  forward  singly  or  in  groups.  They 
were  invariably  shot  down;  for  the  Indians  aimed 
from  their  coverts  at  every  one  on  horseback,  or  who 
appeared  to  have  command. 

Some  were  killed  by  random  shot  of  their  own 


1755.]  WASHINGTON    IN    THE   ACTION.  197 

men,  who,  crowded  in  masses,  fired  with  affrighted  ra- 
pidity, but  without  aim.  Soldiers  in  the  front  ranks 
were  killed  by  those  in  the  rear.  Between  friend  and 
foe,  the  slaughter  of  the  officers  was  terrible.  All  this 
while  the  woods  resounded  with  the  unearthly  yellings 
of  the  savages,  and  now  and  then  one  of  them,  hide- 
ously painted,  and  ruffling  with  feathered  crest,  would 
rush  forth  to  scalp  an  officer  who  had  fallen,  or  seize 
a  horse  galloping  wildly  without  a  rider. 

Throughout  this  disastrous  day,  Washington  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  courage  and  presence  of  mind. 
His  brother  aids,  Orme  and  Morris,  were  wounded  and 
disabled  early  in  the  action,  and  the  whole  duty  of  car- 
rying the  orders  of  the  general  devolved  on  him.  His 
danger  was  imminent  and  incessant.  He  was  in  every 
part  of  the  field,  a  conspicuous  mark  for  the  murderous 
rifle.  Two  horses  were  shot  under  him.  Pour  bul- 
lets passed  through  his  coat.  His  escape  without  a 
wound  was  almost  miraculous.  Dr.  Craik,  who  was 
on  the  field  attending  to  the  wounded,  watched  him  with 
anxiety  as  he  rode  about  in  the  most  exposed  manner, 
and  used  to  say  that  he  expected  every  moment  to  see 
him  fall.  At  one  time  he  was  sent  to  the  main  body  to 
bring  the  artillery  into  action.  All  there  was  likewise 
in  confusion ;  for  the  Indians  had  extended  themselves 
along  the  ravine  so  as  to  flank  the  reserve  and  carry 
slaughter  into  the  ranks.  Sir  Peter  Halket  had  been 
shot  down  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  The  men  who 
should  have  served  the  guns  were  paralyzed.  Had  they 
raked  the  ravines  with  grape-shot  the  day  might  have 
been  saved.  In  his  ardor,  Washington  sprang  from 
his  horse ;  wheeled  and  pointed  a  brass  field-piece  with 


198  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

his  own  hand,  and  directed  an  effective  discharge  into 
the  woods ;  but  neither  his  efforts  nor  example  were  of 
avail.     The  men  could  not  be  kept  to  the  guns. 

Braddock  still  remained  in  the  centre  of  the  field, 
m  the  desperate  hope  of  retrieving  the  fortunes  of  the 
day.  The  Virginia  rangers,  who  had  been  most  efficient 
in  covering  his  position,  were  nearly  all  killed  or  wound- 
ed. His  secretary,  Shirley,  had  fallen  by  his  side. 
Many  of  his  officers  had  been  slain  within  his  sight, 
and  many  of  his  guard  of  Virginia  light  horse.  Five 
horses  had  been  killed  under  him;  still  he  kept  his 
ground,  vainly  endeavoring  to  check  the  flight  of  his 
men,  or  at  least  to  effect  their  retreat  in  good  order. 
At  length  a  bullet  passed  through  his  right  arm,  and 
lodged  itself  in  his  lungs.  He  fell  from  his  horse,  but 
was  caught  by  Captain  Stewart  of  the  Virginia  guards, 
who,  with  the  assistance  of  another  American,  and  a 
servant,  placed  him  in  a  tumbril.  It  was  with  much 
difficulty  they  got  him  out  of  the  field — in  his  despair 
he  desired  to  be  left  there.* 

The  rout  now  became  complete.  Baggage,  stores, 
artillery,  every  thing  was  abandoned.  The  waggoners 
took  each  a  horse  out  of  his  team,  and  fled.  The  offi- 
cers were  swept  off  with  the  men  in  this  headlong 
flight.  It  was  rendered  more  precipitate  by  the  shouts 
and  yells  of  the  savages,  numbers  of  whom  rushed  forth 
from  their  coverts,  and  pursued  the  fugitives  to  the 
river  side,  killing  several  as  they  dashed  across  in  tu- 
multuous confusion.  Fortunately  for  the  latter,  the 
victors  gave  up  the  pursuit  in  their  eagerness  to  collect 
the  spoil. 

*  Journal  of  the  Seamen's  detachment. 


1755.]  THE   RETREAT.  199 

The  shattered  army  continued  its  flight  after  it  had 
crossed  the  Monongahela,  a  wretched  wreck  of  the  bril- 
liant little  force  that  had  recently  gleamed  along  its 
banks,  confident  of  victory.  Out  of  eighty-six  officers, 
twenty-six  had  been  killed,  and  thirty-six  wounded. 
The  number  of  rank  and  file  killed  and  wounded  was 
upwards  of  seven  hundred.  The  Virginia  corps  had 
suffered  the  most ;  one  company  had  been  almost  anni- 
hilated, another,  beside  those  killed  and  wounded  in  the 
ranks,  had  lost  all  its  officers,  even  to  the  corporal. 

About  a  hundred  men  were  brought  to  a  halt  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  ford  of  the  river.  Here 
was  Braddock,  with  his  wounded  aides-de-camp  and 
some  of  his  officers ;  Dr.  Craik  dressing  his  wounds, 
and  Washington  attending  him  with  faithful  assiduity. 
Braddock  was  still  able  to  give  orders,  and  had  a  faint 
hope  of  being  able  to  keep  possession  of  the  ground 
until  reinforced.  Most  of  the  men  were  stationed  in  a 
very  advantageous  spot  about  two  hundred  yards  from 
the  road;  and  Lieutenant-colonel  Burton  posted  out 
small  parties  and  sentinels.  Before  an  hour  had  elapsed 
most  of  the  men  had  stolen  off.  Being  thus  deserted, 
Braddock  and  his  officers  continued  their  retreat ;  he 
would  have  mounted  his  horse  but  was  unable,  and 
had  to  be  carried  by  soldiers.  Orme  and  Morris  were 
placed  on  fitters  borne  by  horses.  They  were  subse- 
quently joined  by  Colonel  Gage  with  eighty  men  whom 
he  had  rallied. 

Washington,  in  the  mean  time,  notwithstanding  his 
weak  state,  being  found  most  efficient  in  frontier  ser- 
vice, was  sent  to  Colonel  Dunbar's  camp,  forty  miles 
distant,  with  orders  for  him  to  hurry  forward  provi- 


200  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

sions,  hospital  stores,  and  waggons  for  the  wounded, 
under  the  escort  of  two  grenadier  companies.  It  was  a 
hard  and  a  melancholy  ride  throughout  the  night  and  the 
following  day.  The  tidings  of  the  defeat  preceded  him, 
borne  by  the  waggoners,  who  had  mounted  their  horses, 
on  Braddock's  fall,  and  fled  from  the  field  of  battle. 
They  had  arrived,  haggard,  at  Dunbar's  camp  at  mid- 
day; the  Indian  yells  still  ringing  in  their  ears.  "All 
was  lost !  "  they  cried.  "  Braddock  was  killed  !  They 
had  seen  wounded  officers  borne  off  from  the  field  in 
bloody  sheets  !  The  troops  were  all  cut  to  pieces  !  " 
A  panic  fell  upon  the  camp.  The  drums  beat  to  arms. 
Many  of  the  soldiers,  waggoners  and  attendants,  took 
to  flight ;  but  most  of  them  were  forced  back  by  the 
sentinels. 

Washington  arrived  at  the  camp  in  the  evening, 
and  found  the  agitation  still  prevailing.  The  orders 
which  he  brought  were  executed  during  the  night,  and 
he  was  in  the  saddle  early  in  the  morning  accompany- 
ing the  convoy  of  supplies.  At  Gist's  plantation,  about 
thirteen  miles  off,  he  met  Gage  and  his  scanty  force 
escorting  Braddock  and  his  wounded  officers.  Captain 
Stewart  and  a  sad  remnant  of  the  Virginia  light  horse 
still  accompanied  the  general  as  his  guard.  The  cap- 
tain had  been  unremitting  in  his  attentions  to  him  dur- 
ing the  retreat.  There  was  a  halt  of  one  day  at  Dun- 
bar's camp  for  the  repose  and  relief  of  the  wounded. 
On  the  13th  they  resumed  their  melancholy  march, 
and  that  night  reached  the  Great  Meadows. 

The  proud  spirit  of  Braddock  was  broken  by  his 
defeat.  He  remained  silent  the  first  evening  after  the 
battle,  only  ejaculating  at  night,  "Who  would  have 


1755.J  DEATH    OF   BRADDOCK.  201 

thought  it!"  He  was  equally  silent  the  following 
day ;  yet  hope  still  seemed  to  linger  in  his  breast,  from 
another  ejaculation:  "We  shall  better  know  how  to 
deal  with  them  another  time  1 "  * 

He  was  grateful  for  the  attentions  paid  to  him  by 
Captain  Stewart  and  Washington,  and  more  than  once, 
it  is  said,  expressed  his  admiration  of  the  gallantry  dis- 
played by  the  Virginians  in  the  action.  It  is  said, 
moreover,  that  in  his  last  moments,  he  apologized  to 
Washington  for  the  petulance  with  which  he  had  re- 
jected his  advice,  and  bequeathed  to  him  his  favorite 
charger  and  his  faithful  servant,  Bishop,  who  had 
helped  to  convey  him  from  the  field. 

Some  of  these  facts,  it  is  true,  rest  on  tradition,  yet 
we  are  willing  to  believe  them,  as  they  impart  a  gleam 
of  just  and  generous  feeling  to  his  closing  scene.  He 
died  on  the  night  of  the  13th,  at  the  Great  Meadows, 
the  place  of  Washington's  discomfiture  in  the  previous 
year.  His  obsequies  were  performed  before  break  of 
day.  The  chaplain  having  been  wounded,  Washington 
read  the  funeral  service.  All  was  done  in  sadness,  and 
without  parade,  so  as  not  to  attract  the  attention  of 
lurking  savages,  who  might  discover,  and  outrage  his 
grave.  It  is  doubtful  even  whether  a  volley  was  fired 
over  it,  that  last  military  honor  which  he  had  recently 
paid  to  the  remains  of  an  Indian  warrior.  The  place 
of  his  sepulture,  however,  is  still  known,  and  pointed  out. 

*  Captain  Orme,  who  gave  these  particulars  to  Dr.  Franklin,  says  that 
Braddock  "  died  a  few  minutes  after."  This,  according  to  his  account,  was 
on  the  second  day ;  whereas  the  general  survived  upwards  of  four  days. 
Orme,  being  conveyed  on  a  litter  at  some  distance  from  the  general,  could 
only  speak  of  his  moods  from  hearsay. 


202  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

Reproach  spared  him  not,  even  when  in  his  grave. 
The  failure  of  the  expedition  was  attributed  both  in 
England  and  America  to  his  obstinacy,  his  technical 
pedantry,  and  his  military  conceit.  He  had  been  con- 
tinually warned  to  be  on  his  guard  against  ambush  and 
surprise,  but  without  avail.  Had  he  taken  the  advice 
urged  on  him  by  Washington  and  others,  to  employ 
scouting  parties  of  Indians  and  rangers,  he  would  never 
have  been  so  signally  surprised  and  defeated. 

Still  his  dauntless  conduct  on  the  field  of  battle 
shows  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  fearless  spirit ;  and 
he  was  universally  allowed  to  be  an  accomplished  dis- 
ciplinarian. His  melancholy  end,  too,  disarms  censure 
of  its  asperity.  Whatever  may  have  been  his  faults 
and  errors,  he,  in  a  manner,  expiated  them  by  the  hard- 
est lot  that  can  befall  a  brave  soldier,  ambitious  of  re- 
nown— an  unhonored  grave  in  a  strange  land ;  a  mem- 
ory clouded  by  misfortune,  and  a  name  for  ever  coupled 
with  defeat. 

NOTE. 

In  narrating  the  expedition  of  Braddock,  we  have  frequently  cited 
the  Journals  of  Captain  Orme  and  of  the  "  Seamen's  Detachment ;  n 
they  were  procured  in  England  by  the  Hon.  Joseph  E.  Ingersoll, 
while  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  recently  published  by 
the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania :  ably  edited,  and  illustrated 
with  an  admirable  Introductory  Memoir  by  Winthrop  Sargent,  Esq., 
member  of  that  Society. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


ABBIVAL  AT  FOBT  OUMBEBLAND — LETTEES  OP  WASHINGTON  TO  HIS  FAM- 
ILY— PANIC  OF  DTJNBAE — FOE  TUNES  OF  DE.  HUGH  MEECEE — TEIUMPn 
OF  THE  FEENCH. 


The  obsequies  of  the  unfortunate  Braddock  being  fin- 
ished, the  escort  continued  its  retreat  with  the  sick 
and  wounded.  Washington,  assisted  by  Dr.  Craik, 
watched  with  assiduity  over  his  comrades,  Orme  and 
Morris.  As  the  horses  which  bore  their  litters  were 
nearly  knocked  up,  he  despatched  messengers  to  the 
commander  of  Port  Cumberland,  requesting  that  others 
might  be  sent  on,  and  that  comfortable  quarters  might 
be  prepared  for  the  reception  of  those  officers. 

On  the  17th3  the  sad  cavalcade  reached  the  fort, 
and  were  relieved  from  the  incessant  apprehension  of 
pursuit.  Here,  too,  flying  reports  had  preceded  them, 
brought  by  fugitives  from  the  battle  $  who,  with  the 
disposition  usual  in  such  cases  to  exaggerate,  had  repre- 
sented the  whole  army  as  massacred.  Fearing  these 
reports  might  reach  home,  and  affect  his  family,  Wash- 
ington wrote  to  his  mother,  and  his  brother,  John 


204  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

Augustine,  apprising  them  of  Ms  safety.  "The  Vir- 
ginia troops,"  says  he,  in  a  letter  to  his  mother, 
"  showed  a  good  deal  of  bravery,  and  were  nearly  all 
killed.  *  *  *  *  The  dastardly  behavior  of  those 
they  called  regulars  exposed  all  others,  that  were  ordered 
to  do  their  duty,  to  almost  certain  death ;  and,  at  last, 
in  despite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  officers  to  the  con- 
trary, they  ran,  as  sheep  pursued  by  dogs,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  rally  them." 

To  his  brother,  he  writes :  "  As  I  have  heard,  since 
my  arrival  at  this  place,  a  circumstantial  account  of  my 
death  and  dying  speech,  I  take  this  early  opportunity 
of  contradicting  the  first,  and  of  assuring  you  that  I 
have  not  composed  the  latter.  But,  by  the  all-power- 
ful dispensations  of  Providence,  I  have  been  protected 
beyond  all  human  probability,  or  expectation;  for  I 
had  four  bullets  through  my  coat,  and  two  horses  shot 
under  me,  yet  escaped  unhurt,  though  death  was  level- 
ling my  companions  on  every  side  of  me ! 

"We  have  been  most  scandalously  beaten  by  a 
trifling  body  of  men,  but  fatigue  and  want  of  time  pre- 
vent me  from  giving  you  any  of  the  details,  until  I  have 
the  happiness  of  seeing  you  at  Mount  Vernon,  which  I 
now  most  earnestly  wish  for,  since  we  are  driven  in 
thus  far.  A  feeble  state  of  health  obliges  me  to  halt 
here  for  two  or  three  days  to  recover  a  little  strength, 
that  I  may  thereby  be  enabled  to  proceed  homeward 
with  more  ease." 

Dunbar  arrived  shortly  afterward  with  the  remain- 
der of  the  army.  No  one  seems  to  have  shared  more 
largely  in  the  panic  of  the  vulgar  than  that  officer. 
From  the  moment  he  received  tidings  of  the  defeat,  his 


1755.]  FLIGHT    OF   DUNBAR.  205 

camp  became  a  scene  of  confusion.  All  the  ammuni- 
tion, stores,  and  artillery  were  destroyed,  to  prevent,  it 
was  said,  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ; 
but,  as  it  was  afterwards  alleged,  to  relieve  the  terror- 
stricken  commander  from  all  incumbrances,  and  furnish 
him  with  more  horses  in  his  flight  toward  the  settle- 
ments.* 

At  Cumberland  his  forces  amounted  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred effective  men ;  enough  for  a  brave  stand  to  pro- 
tect the  frontier,  and  recover  some  of  the  lost  honor ; 
but  he  merely  paused  to  leave  the  sick  and  wounded 
under  care  of  two  Virginia  and  Maryland  companies, 
and  some  of  the  train,  and  then  continued  his  hasty 
march,  or  rather  flight,  through  the  country,  not  think- 
ing himself  safe,  as  was  sneeringly  intimated,  until  he 
arrived  in  Philadelphia,  where  the  inhabitants  could 
protect  him. 

Among  the  wounded  survivors  of  the  defeat,  who 
found  their  way  to  Port  Cumberland,  was  Washing- 
ton's friend  and  neighbor,  Dr.  Hugh  Mercer.  He  had 
received  a  severe  wound  in  the  shoulder,  and  being  un- 
able to  keep  up  with  the  fugitives,  concealed  himself 
behind  a  fallen  tree.  Thence  he  was  a  sad  witness  of  a 
demoniac  scene,  which  followed  the  defeat.  The  field 
was  strewed  with  the  dead  and  dying,  and  among  them 
several  gallant  officers.  White  man  and  red  man  vied 
with  each  other  in  stripping  and  plundering  them; 
those  who  were  still  alive  were  despatched  by  the  mer- 
ciless tomahawk,  and  all  were  scalped.  When  the 
plunder  and  massacre  were  finished,  the  victors  set  out 

*  Franklin's  Autobiography. 


206  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

for  the  fort,  laden  with  booty,  the  savages  bearing  aloft 
the  scalps  as  trophies,  and  making  the  forest  ring  with 
their  yells  of  triumph.  Mercer  then  set  out  on  a  lonely 
struggle  through  the  wilderness,  guiding  himself  by  the 
stars  and  the  course  of  the  streams,  and  arrived  at  Fort 
Cumberland,  almost  exhausted  by  sickness,  famine,  and 
fatigue.  We  shall  have  to  speak  hereafter  of  his  ser- 
vices when  under  the  standard  of  Washington,  and  his 
heroic  death  on  a  more  successful  field  of  action. 

The  true  reason  why  the  enemy  did  not  pursue  the 
retreating  army  was  not  known  until  some  time  after- 
wards, and  added  to  the  disgrace  of  the  defeat.  They 
were  not  the  main  force  of  the  French,  but  a  mere  de- 
tachment of  72  regulars,  146  Canadians,  and  637 
Indians,  855  in  all,  led  by  Captain  de  Beaujeu.  De 
Contrecceur,  the  commander  of  Fort  Duquesne,  had 
received  information,  through  his  scouts,  that  the  Eng- 
lish, three  thousand  strong,  were  within  six  leagues  of 
his  fort.  Despairing  of  making  an  effectual  defence 
against  such  a  superior  force,  he  was  balancing  in  his 
mind  whether  to  abandon  his  fort  without  awaiting  their 
arrival,  or  to  capitulate  on  honorable  terms.  In  this 
dilemma  Beaujeu  prevailed  on  him  to  let  him  sally  forth 
with  a  detachment  to  form  an  ambush,  and  give  check 
to  the  enemy.  De  Beaujeu  was  to  have  taken  post  at 
the  river,  and  disputed  the  passage  at  the  ford.  For 
that  purpose  he  was  hurrying  forward  when  discovered 
by  the  pioneers  of  Gage's  advance  party.  He  was  a 
gallant  officer,  and  fell  at  the  beginning  of  the  fight. 
The  whole  number  of  killed  and  wounded  of  French 
and  Indians,  did  not  exceed  seventy. 

Such  was  the  scanty  force  which  the  imagination 


1755.J  TRIUMPH    OF    THE    VICTORS.  207 

of  the  panic-stricken  army  had  magnified  into  a  great 
host,  and  from  which  they  had  fled  in  breathless  terror, 
abandoning  the  whole  frontier.  No  one  could  be  more 
surprised  than  the  French  commander  himself,  when  the 
ambuscading  party  returned  in  triumph  with  a  long 
train  of  packhorses  laden  with  booty,  the  savages  ua- 
couthly  clad  in  the  garments  of  the  slain,  grenadier 
caps,  officers'  gold-laced  coats,  and  glittering  epau- 
lettes ;  flourishing  swords  and  sabres,  or  firing  off  mus- 
kets, and  uttering  fiendlike  yells  of  victory.  But  when 
De  Contrecceur  was  informed  of  the  utter  rout  and  de- 
struction of  the  much  dreaded  British  army,  his  joy 
was  complete.  He  ordered  the  guns  of  the  fort  to  be 
fired  in  triumph,  and  sent  out  troops  in  pursuit  of  the 
fugitives. 

The  affair  of  Braddock  remains  a  memorable  event 
in  American  history,  and  has  been  characterized  as 
"  the  most  extraordinary  victory  ever  obtained,  and  the 
farthest  flight  ever  made."  It  struck  a  fatal  blow  to 
the  deference  for  British  prowess,  which  once  amounted 
almost  to  bigotry,  throughout  the  provinces. 

"  This  whole  transaction,"  observes  Franklin,  in  his 
autobiography,  "gave  us  the  first  suspicion  that  our 
exalted  ideas  of  the  prowess  of  British  regular  troops 
had  not  been  well  founded." 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

COSTS  OF  CAMPAIGNING — MEASUEES  FOB  PUBLIC  SAFETY — WASHINGTON 
IN  COMMAND — HEAD-QUAETEES  AT  WINOHESTEE — LOED  FAIEFAX  AND 
HIS  TEOOP  OF  HOESE — INDIAN  EAVAGES — PANIC  AT  WINOHESTEE — 
CAUSE  OF  THE  ALAEM — OPEBATIONS  ELSEWHEBE— SHIELEY  AGAINST 
NIAGABA — JOHNSON  AGAINST  CEOWN  POINT — AFFAIR  AT  LAKE  GEOEGE 
— DEATH  OF  DIESKAH. 

Washington  arived  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  26th 
of  July,  still  in  feeble  condition  from  his  long  illness. 
His  campaigning,  thus  far,  had  trenched  upon  his  pri- 
vate fortune,  and  impaired  one  of  the  best  of  constitu- 
tions. 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother  Augustine,  then  a  mem- 
ber of  Assembly  at  Williamsburg,  he  casts  up  the  re- 
sult of  his  frontier  experience.  "I  was  employed," 
writes  he,  "  to  go  a  journey  in  the  winter,  when  I  be- 
lieve few  or  none  would  have  undertaken  it,  and  what 
did  I  get  by  it  ? — my  expenses  borne !  I  was  then 
appointed,  with  trifling  pay,  to  conduct  a  handful  of 
men  to  the  Ohio.  What  did  I  get  by  that?  Why, 
after  putting  myself  to  a  considerable  expense  in  equip- 
ping and  providing  necessaries  for  the  campaign,  I 


1755.]  MEASURES    FOR   PUBLIC    SAFETY.  209 

went  out,  was  soundly  beaten,  and  lost  all !  Came  in, 
and  had  my  commission  taken  from  me ;  or,  in  other 
words,  my  command  reduced,  under  pretence  of  an 
order  from  home  (England).  I  then  went  out  a  volun- 
teer with  General  Braddock,  and  lost  all  my  horses, 
and  many  other  things.  But  this  being  a  voluntary 
act,  I  ought  not  to  have  mentioned  it ;  nor  should  I 
have  done  it,  were  it  not  to  show  that  I  have  been  on 
the  losing  order  ever  since  I  entered  the  service,  which 
is  now  nearly  two  years." 

What  a  striking  lesson  is  furnished  by  this  brief 
summary !  How  little  was  he  aware  of  the  vast  advan- 
tages he  was  acquiring  in  this  school  of  bitter  experi- 
ence !  "  In  the  hand  of  heaven  he  stood/'  to  be  shaped 
and  trained  for  its  great  purpose  ;  and  every  trial  and 
vicissitude  of  his  early  life,  but  fitted  him  to  cope  with 
one  or  other  of  the  varied  and  multifarious  duties  of  his 
future  destiny. 

But  though,  under  the  saddening  influence  of  de- 
bility and  defeat,  he  might  count  the  cost  of  his  cam- 
paigning, the  martial  spirit  still  burned  within  him. 
His  connection  with  the  army,  it  is  true,  had  ceased  at 
the  death  of  Braddock,  but  his  military  duties  contin- 
ued as  adjutant-general  of  the  northern  division  of  the 
province,  and  he  immediately  issued  orders  for  the 
county  lieutenants  to  hold  the  militia  in  readiness  for 
parade  and  exercise,  foreseeing  that  in  the  present  de- 
fenceless state  of  the  frontier,  there  would  be  need  of 
their  services. 

Tidings  of  the  rout  and  retreat  of  the  army  had 
circulated  far  and  near,  and  spread  consternation 
throughout  the  country.     Immediate  incursions  both 

VOL.    I. 14 


210  LIFE    OH1   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

of  French  and  Indians  were  apprehended ;  and  volun* 
teer  companies  began  to  form,  for  the  purpose  of 
marching  across  the  mountains  to  the  scene  of  danger. 
It  was  intimated  to  Washington  that  his  services  would 
again  be  wanted  on  the  frontier.  He  declared  instant- 
ly that  he  was  ready  to  serve  his  country  to  the  extent 
of  his  powers ;  but  never  on  the  same  terms  as  here- 
tofore. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  Governor  Dinwiddie  con- 
vened the  Assembly  to  devise  measures  for  the  public 
safety.  The  sense  of  danger  had  quickened  the  slow 
patriotism  of  the  burgesses ;  they  no  longer  held  back 
supplies ;  forty  thousand  pounds  were  promptly  voted, 
and  orders  issued  for  the  raising  of  a  regiment  of  one 
thousand  men. 

Washington's  friends  urged  him  to  present  himself 
at  Williamsburg  as  a  candidate  for  the  command; 
they  were  confident  of  his  success,  notwithstanding 
that  strong  interest  was  making  for  the  governor's 
favorite,  Colonel  Innes. 

With  mingled  modesty  and  pride,  Washington  de- 
clined to  be  a  solicitor.  The  only  terms,  he  said,  on 
which  he  would  accept  a  command,  were  a  certainty  as 
to  rank  and  emoluments,  a  right  to  appoint  his  field  offi- 
cers, and  the  supply  of  a  sufficient  military  chest ;  but 
to  solicit  the  command,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  make 
stipulations,  would  be  a  little  incongruous,  and  carry 
with  it  the  face  of  self-sufficiency.  "If,"  added  he, 
"  the  command  should  be  offered  to  me,  the  case  will 
then  be  altered,  as  I  should  be  at  liberty  to  make  such 
objections  as  reason,  and  my  small  experience,  have 
pointed  out." 


1755.]  WASHINGTON    IN    COMMAND.  211 

While  this  was  in  agitation,  he  received  letters  from 
his  mother,  again  imploring  him  not  to  risk  himself  in 
these  frontier  wars.  His  answer  was  characteristic, 
blending  the  filial  deference  with  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed from  childhood  to  treat  her,  with  a  calm  patriot- 
ism of  the  Roman  stamp. 

"  Honored  Madam :  If  it  is  in  my  power  to  avoid 
going  to  the  Ohio  again,  I  shall ;  but  if  the  command 
is  pressed  upon  me  by  the  general  voice  of  the  country, 
and  offered  upon  such  terms  as  cannot  be  objected 
against,  it  would  reflect  dishonor  on  me  to  refuse  it ; 
and  that,  I  am  sure,  must,  and  ought,  to  give  you 
greater  uneasiness,  than  my  going  in  an  honorable  com- 
mand. Upon  no  other  terms  will  I  accept  it.  At 
present  I  have  no  proposals  made  to  me,  nor  have  I 
any  advice  of  such  an  intention,  except  from  private 
hands." 

On  the  very  day  that  this  letter  was  despatched 
(Aug.  14),  he  received  intelligence  of  his  appointment 
to  the  command  on  the  terms  specified  in  his  letters 
to  his  friends.  His  commission  nominated  him  com- 
mander-in-chief of  all  the  forces  raised,  or  to  be  raised, 
in  the  colony.  The  Assembly  also  voted  three  hundred 
pounds  to  him,  and  proportionate  sums  to  the  other 
officers,  and  to  the  privates  of  the  Virginia  companies, 
in  consideration  of  their  gallant  conduct,  and  their 
losses  in  the  late  battle. 

The  officers  next  in  command  under  him  were 
Lieutenant-colonel  Adam  Stephens,  and  Major  An- 
drew Lewis.  The  former,  it  will  be  recollected,  had 
been  with  him  in  the  unfortunate  affair  at  the  Great 


212  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

Meadows ;  his  advance  in  rank  shows  that  his  conduct 
had  been  meritorious. 

The  appointment  of  Washington  to  his  present  sta- 
tion was  the  more  gratifying  and  honorable  from  being 
a  popular  one,  made  in  deference  to  public  sentiment ; 
to  which  Governor  Dinwiddie  was  obliged  to  sacrifice 
his  strong  inclination  in  favor  of  Colonel  Innes.  It  is 
thought  that  the  governor  never  afterwards  regarded 
Washington  with  a  friendly  eye.  His  conduct  towards 
him  subsequently,  was  on  various  occasions  cold  and 
ungracious.* 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  the  early  popularity  of 
Washington  was  not  the  result  of  brilliant  achievements 
nor  signal  success ;  on  the  contrary,  it  rose  among  trials 
and  reverses,  and  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  the 
fruit  of  defeats.  It  remains  an  honorable  testimony  of 
Virginian  intelligence,  that  the  sterling,  enduring,  but 
undazzling  qualities  of  Washington  were  thus  early  dis- 
cerned and  appreciated,  though  only  heralded  by  mis- 
fortunes. The  admirable  manner  in  which  he  had  con- 
ducted himself  under  these  misfortunes,  and  the  saga- 
city and  practical  wisdom  he  had  displayed  on  all 
occasions,  were  universally  acknowledged ;  and  it  was 
observed  that,  had  his  modest  counsels  been  adopted 
by  the  unfortunate  Braddock,  a  totally  different  result 
might  have  attended  the  late  campaign. 

An  instance  of  this  high  appreciation  of  his  merits 
occurs  in  a  sermon  preached  on  the  17th  of  August,  by 
the  Rev.  Samuel Davies, wherein  he  cites  him  as  "that 
heroic  youth,  Colonel  Washington,  whom  I  cannot  but 

*  Sparks.    Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.,  p.  161,  note. 


1755.]  LORD    FAIRFAX   AND    HIS    TROOP.  213 

hope  Providence  has  hitherto  preserved  in  so  signal  a 
manner  for  some  important  service  to  Ms  country.39 
The  expressions  of  the  worthy  clergyman  may  have 
been  deemed  enthusiastic  at  the  time ;  viewed  in  con- 
nection with  subsequent  events  they  appear  almost  pro- 
phetic. 

Having  held  a  conference  with  Governor  Dinwiddie 
at  Williamsburg,  and  received  his  instructions,  Wash- 
ington repaired,  on  the  14th  of  September,  to  Win- 
chester, where  he  fixed  his  head- quarters.  It  was  a 
place  as  yet  of  trifling  magnitude,  but  important  from 
its  position;  being  a  central  point  where  the  main 
roads  met,  leading  from  north  to  south,  and  east  to 
west,  and  commanding  the  channels  of  traffic  and  com- 
munication between  some  of  the  most  important  colo- 
nies and  a  great  extent  of  frontier. 

Here  he  was  brought  into  frequent  and  cordial 
communication  with  his  old  friend  Lord  Fairfax.  The 
stir  of  war  had  revived  a  spark  of  that  military  fire  which 
animated  the  veteran  nobleman  in  the  days  of  his 
youth,  when  an  officer  in  the  cavalry  regiment  of  the 
Blues.  He  was  lord-lieutenant  of  the  county.  Green- 
way  Court  was  his  head-quarters.  He  had  organized 
a  troop  of  horse,  which  occasionally  was  exercised  about 
the  lawn  of  his  domain,  and  he  was  now  as  prompt  to 
mount  his  steed  for  a  cavalry  parade  as  he  ever  was  for 
a  fox  chase.  The  arrival  of  Washington  frequently 
brought  the  old  nobleman  to  Winchester,  to  aid  the 
young  commander  with  his  counsels  or  his  sword. 

His  services  were  soon  put  in  requisition.  Wash- 
ington, having  visited  the  frontier  posts,  established 
recruiting  places,  and  taken  other  measures  of  security, 


214  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

had  set  off  for  Williamsburg  on  military  business,  when  an 
express  arrived  at  Winchester  from  Colonel  Stephens, 
who  commanded  at  Tort  Cumberland,  giving  the  alarm 
that  a  body  of  Indians  were  ravaging  the  country, 
burning  the  houses,  and  slaughtering  the  inhabitants. 
The  express  was  instantly  forwarded  after  Washington ; 
in  the  mean  time,  Lord  Fairfax  sent  out  orders  for  the 
militia  of  Fairfax  and  Prince  William  counties  to  arm 
and  hasten  to  the  defence  of  Winchester,  where  all  was 
confusion  and  affright.  One  fearful  account  followed 
another.  The  whole  country  beyond  it  was  said  to  be 
at  the  mercy  of  the  savages.  They  had  blockaded  the 
rangers  in  the  little  fortresses  or  outposts  provided  for 
the  protection  of  neighborhoods.  They  were  advan- 
cing upon  Winchester  with  fire,  tomahawk,  and  scalp- 
ing-knife.  The  country  people  were  flocking  into  the 
town  for  safety — the  townspeople  were  moving  off  to 
the  settlements  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  likely  to  become  a  scene 
of  savage  desolation. 

In  the  height  of  the  confusion,  Washington  rode  into 
the  town.  He  had  been  overtaken  by  Colonel  Ste- 
phens' express.  His  presence  inspired  some  degree  of 
confidence,  and  he  succeeded  in  stopping  most  of  the 
fugitives.  He  would  have  taken  the  field  at  once 
against  the  savages,  believing  their  numbers  to  be  few ; 
but  not  more  than  twenty-five  of  the  militia  could  be 
mustered  for  the  service.  The  rest  refused  to  stir — 
they  would  rather  die  with  their  wives  and  children. 

Expresses  were  sent  off  to  hurry  up  the  militia 
ordered  out  by  Lord  Fairfax.  Scouts  were  ordered 
out  to  discover  the  number  of  the  foe,  and  convey 


1755.]  PANIC    AT    WINCHESTER.  215 

assurances  of  succor  to  the  rangers  said  to  be  blocked 
up  in  the  fortresses,  though  "Washington  suspected  the 
latter  to  be  "  more  encompassed  by  fear  than  by  the 
enemy."  Smiths  were  set  to  work  to  furbish  up  and 
repair  such  fire-arms  as  were  in  the  place,  and  waggons 
were  sent  off  for  musket-balls,  flints,  and  provisions. 

Instead,  however,  of  animated  co-operation,  Wash- 
ington was  encountered  by  difficulties  at  every  step. 
The  waggons  in  question  had  to  be  impressed,  and  the 
waggoners  compelled  by  force  to  assist.  "  No  orders," 
writes  he,  "  are  obeyed,  but  such  as  a  party  of  soldiers 
or  my  own  drawn  sword  enforces.  Without  this,  not 
a  single  horse,  for  the  most  earnest  occasion,  can  be 
had, — to  such  a  pitch  has  the  insolence  of  these  people 
arrived,  by  having  every  point  hitherto  submitted  to 
them.  However,  I  have  given  up  none,  where  his 
majesty's  service  requires  the  contrary,  and  where  my 
proceedings  are  justified  by  my  instructions ;  nor  will 
I,  unless  they  execute  what  they  threaten, — that  is, 
blow  out  our  brains." 

One  is  tempted  to  smile  at  this  tirade  about  the 
"insolence  of  the  people,"  and  this  zeal  for  "his 
majesty's  service,"  on  the  part  of  Washington  ;  but  he 
was  as  yet  a  young  man  and  a  young  officer ;  loyal  to 
his  sovereign,  and  with  high  notions  of  military  author- 
ity, which  he  had  acquired  in  the  camp  of  Braddock. 

What  he  thus  terms  insolence  was  the  dawning 
spirit  of  independence,  which  he  was  afterwards  the 
foremost  to  cherish  and  promote ;  and  which,  in  the 
present  instance,  had  been  provoked  by  the  rough 
treatment  from  the  military,  which  the  waggoners  and 
others  of  the  yeomanry  had  experienced  when   em- 


216  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

ployed  in  Braddock's  campaign,  and  by  the  neglect  to 
pay  them  for  their  services.  Much  of  Washington's 
difficulties  also  arose,  doubtlessly,  from  the  inefficiency 
of  the  military  laws,  for  an  amendment  of  which  he 
had  in  vain  made  repeated  applications  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie. 

In  the  mean  time  the  panic  and  confusion  increased. 
On  Sunday,  an  express  hurried  into  town,  breathless 
with  haste  and  terror.  The  Indians,  he  said,  were  but 
twelve  miles  off;  they  had  attacked  the  house  of  Isaac 
Julian;  the  inhabitants  were  flying  for  their  lives. 
Washington  immediately  ordered  the  town  guards  to 
be  strengthened;  armed  some  recruits  who  had  just 
arrived,  and  sent  out  two  scouts  to  reconnoitre  the 
enemy.  It  was  a  sleepless  night  in  Winchester.  Hor- 
ror increased  with  the  dawn ;  before  the  men  could  be 
paraded  a  second  express  arrived,  ten  times  more  terri- 
fied than  the  former.  The  Indians  were  within  four 
miles  of  the  town,  killing  and  destroying  all  before 
them.  He  had  heard  the  constant  firing  of  the  savages 
and  the  shrieks  of  their  victims. 

The  terror  of  Winchester  now  passed  all  bounds. 
Washington  put  himself  at  the  head  of  about  forty 
men,  militia  and  recruits,  and  pushed  for  the  scene  of 
carnage. 

The  result  is  almost  too  ludicrous  for  record.  The 
whole  cause  of  the  alarm  proved  to  be  three  drunken 
troopers,  carousing,  hallooing,  uttering  the  most  un- 
heard of  imprecations,  and  ever  and  anon  firing  off 
their  pistols.  Washington  interrupted  them  in  the 
midst  of  their  revel  and  blasphemy,  and  conducted  them 
prisoners  to  town. 


1755.]  THE   INDIANS   RETREAT.  217 

The  reported  attack  on  the  house  of  Isaac  Julian 
proved  equally  an  absurd  exaggeration.  The  ferocious 
party  of  Indians  turned  out  to  be  a  mulatto  and  a 
negro  in  quest  of  cattle.  They  had  been  seen  by  a 
child  of  Julian,  who  alarmed  his  father,  who  alarmed 
the  neighborhood. 

"These  circumstances,"  says  "Washington,  "show 
what  a  panic  prevails  among  the  people ;  how  much 
they  are  all  alarmed  at  the  most  usual  and  customary 
cries ;  and  yet  how  impossible  it  is  to  get  them  to  act 
in  any  respect  for  their  common  safety." 

They  certainly  present  a  lively  picture  of  the  fever- 
ish state  of  a  frontier  community,  hourly  in  danger  of 
Indian  ravage  and  butchery ;  than  which  no  kind  of 
warfare  is  more  fraught  with  real  and  imaginary 
horrors. 

The  alarm  thus  originating  had  spread  throughout 
the  country.  A  captain,  who  arrived  with  recruits 
from  Alexandria,  reported  that  he  had  found  the  road 
across  the  Blue  Ridge  obstructed  by  crowds  of  people 
flying  for  their  lives,  whom  he  endeavored  in  vain  to 
stop.     They  declared  that  Winchester  was  in  flames ! 

At  length  the  band  of  Indians,  whose  ravages  had 
produced  this  consternation  throughout  the  land,  and 
whose  numbers  did  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
being  satiated  with  carnage,  conflagration,  and  plunder, 
retreated,  bearing  off  spoils  and  captives.  Intelligent 
scouts  sent  out  by  Washington,  followed  their  traces, 
and  brought  back  certain  intelligence  that  they  had 
recrossed  the  Allegany  Mountains  and  returned  to  their 
homes  on  the  Ohio.     This  report  allayed  the  public 


218  LIFFL    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

panic,  and  restored  temporary  quiet  to  the  harassed 
frontier. 

Most  of  the  Indians  engaged  in  these  ravages  were 
Delawares  and  Shawnees,  who,  since  Braddock's  de- 
feat, had  been  gained  over  by  the  French.  A  principal 
instigator  was  said  to  be  Washington's  old  acquaint- 
ance, Shengis,  and  a  reward  was  offered  for  his  head. 

Scarooyadi,  successor  to  the  half-king,  remained 
true  to  the  English,  and  vindicated  his  people  to  the 
Governor  and  Council  of  Pennsylvania  from  the  charge 
of  having  had  any  share  in  the  late  massacres.  As  to 
the  defeat  at  the  Monongahela,  "it  was  owing,"  he 
said,  "  to  the  pride  and  ignorance  of  that  great  general 
(Braddock)  that  came  from  England.  He  is  now 
dead ;  but  he  was  a  bad  man  when  he  was  alive.  He 
looked  upon  us  as  dogs,  and  would  never  hear  any 
thing  that  was  said  to  him.  We  often  endeavored  to 
advise  him,  and  tell  him  of  the  danger  he  was  in  with 
his  soldiers ;  but  he  never  appeared  pleased  with  us, 
and  that  was  the  reason  that  a  great  many  of  our  war- 
riors left  him."  * 

Scarooyadi  was  ready  with  his  warriors  to  take  up 
the  hatchet  again  with  their  English  brothers  against 
the  Erench.  "  Let  us  unite  our  strength,"  said  he ; 
"you  are  numerous,  and  all  the  English  governors 
along  your  sea-shore  can  raise  men  enough ;  but  don't 
let  those  that  come  from  over  the  great  seas  be  con- 
cerned any  more.  They  are  unfit  to  fight  in  the  woods. 
Let  us  go  ourselves — we  that  came  out  of  this  ground.'* 

No  one  felt  more  strongly  than  Washington  the 

*  Hazard's  Register  of  Penn.,  v.,  p.  252,  2G6. 


1755.]  OPERATIONS    ELSEWHERE.  219 

importance,  at  this  trying  juncture,  of  securing  the 
assistance  of  these  forest  warriors.  "It  is  in  their 
power,"  said  he,  "to  be  of  infinite  use  to  us;  and 
without  Indians,  we  shall  never  be  able  to  cope  with 
these  cruel  foes  to  our  country."  * 

Washington  had  now  time  to  inform  himself  of  the 
fate  of  the  other  enterprises  included  in  this  year's  plan 
of  military  operations.  We  shall  briefly  dispose  of 
them,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  on  the  general  course  of 
events.  The  history  of  Washington  is  linked  with  the 
history  of  the  colonies. 

The  defeat  of  Braddock  paralyzed  the  expedition 
against  Niagara.  Many  of  General  Shirley's  troops, 
which  were  assembled  at  Albany,  struck  with  the  con- 
sternation which  it  caused  throughout  the  country,  de- 
serted. Most  of  the  batteau  men,  who  were  to  trans- 
port stores  by  various  streams,  returned  home.  It 
was  near  the  end  of  August  before  Shirley  was  in  force 
at  Oswego.  Time  was  lost  in  building  boats  for  the 
lake.  Storms  and  head  winds  ensued ;  then  sickness  : 
military  incapacity  in  the  general  completed  the  list  of 
impediments.  Deferring  the  completion  of  the  enter- 
prise until  the  following  year,  Shirley  returned  to  Al- 
bany with  the  main  part  of  his  forces  in  October, 
leaving  about  seven  hundred  men  to  garrison  the 
fortifications  he  had  commenced  at  Oswego. 

To  General  William  Johnson,  it  will  be  recollected, 
had  been  confided  the  expedition  against  Crown  Point, 
on  Lake  Champlain.  Preparations  were  made  for  it  in 
Albany,  whence  the  troops  were  to  march,  and  the 

*  Letter  to  Dinwiddle. 


220  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

artillery,  ammunition,  and  stores  to  be  conveyed  up  the 
Hudson  to  the  carrying-place,  between  that  river  and 
Lake  St.  Sacrament,  as  it  was  termed  by  the  French, 
but  Lake  George,  as  Johnson  named  it,  in  honor  of  his 
sovereign.  At  the  carrying-place  a  fort  was  com- 
menced, subsequently  called  Port  Edward.  Part  of 
the  troops  remained  under  General  Lyman,  to  com- 
plete and  garrison  it ;  the  main  force  proceeded  under 
General  Johnson  to  Lake  George,  the  plan  being  to 
descend  that  lake  to  its  outlet  at  Ticonderoga,  in  Lake 
Champlain.  Having  to  attend  the  arrival  of  batteaux 
forwarded  for  the  purpose  from  Albany  by  the  carry- 
ing-place, Johnson  encamped  at  the  south  end  of  the 
lake.  He  had  with  him  between  five  and  six  thousand 
troops  of  New  York  and  New  England,  and  a  host  of 
Mohawk  warriors,  loyally  devoted  to  him. 

It  so  happened,  that  a  Erench  force  of  upwards  of 
three  thousand  men,  under  the  Baron  de  Dieskau,  an 
old  general  of  high  reputation,  had  recently  arrived  at 
Quebec,  destined  against  Oswego.  The  baron  had 
proceeded  to  Montreal,  and  sent  forward  thence  seven 
hundred  of  his  troops,  when  news  arrived  of  the  army 
gathering  on  Lake  George  for  the  attack  on  Crown 
Point,  perhaps  for  an  inroad  into  Canada.  The  public 
were  in  consternation  ;  yielding  to  their  importunities, 
the  baron  took  post  at  Crown  Point  for  its  defence. 
Beside  his  regular  troops,  he  had  with  him  eight  hun- 
dred Canadians,  and  seven  hundred  Indians  of  different 
tribes.  The  latter  were  under  the  general  command 
of  the  Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  the  veteran 
officer  to  whom  Washington  had  delivered  the  des- 
patches of  Governor  Dinwiddie  on  his  diplomatic  mis- 


1755.]  JOHNSON    ON    LAKE    GEORGE.  221 

sion  to  the  frontier.  The  chevalier  was  a  man  of  great 
influence  among  the  Indians. 

In  the  mean  time,  Johnson  remained  encamped  at 
the  south  end  of  Lake  George,  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
his  batteaux.  The  camp  was  protected  in  the  rear  by 
the  lake,  in  front  by  a  bulwark  of  felled  trees ;  and 
was  flanked  by  thickly  wooded  swamps. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  the  Indian  scouts 
brought  word  that  they  had  discovered  three  large 
roads  made  through  the  forests  toward  Port  Edward. 
An  attack  on  that  post  was  apprehended.  Adams,  a 
hardy  waggoner,  rode  express  with  orders  to  the  com- 
mander to  draw  all  the  troops  within  the  works. 
About  midnight  came  other  scouts.  They  had  seen 
the  French  within  four  miles  of  the  carrying-place. 
They  had  heard  the  report  of  a  musket,  and  the  voice  of 
a  man  crying  for  mercy,  supposed  to  be  the  unfortunate 
Adams.  In  the  morning,  Colonel  Williams  was  de- 
tached with  one  thousand  men,  and  two  hundred  In- 
dians, to  intercept  the  enemy  in  their  retreat.  Within 
two  hours  after  their  departure  a  heavy  fire  of  mus- 
ketry, in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  about  three  or  four 
miles  off,  told  of  a  warm  encounter.  The  drums  beat 
to  arms;  all  were  at  their  posts.  The  firing  grew 
sharper  and  sharper,  and  nearer  and  nearer.  The  de- 
tachment under  Williams  was  evidently  retreating. 
Colonel  Cole  was  sent  with  three  hundred  men  to  cover 
their  retreat.  The  breastwork  of  trees  was  manned. 
Some  heavy  cannon  were  dragged  up  to  strengthen  the 
front.  A  number  of  men  were  stationed  with  a  field- 
piece  on  an  eminence  on  the  left  flank. 

In  a  short  time  fugitives  made  their  appearance ; 


222  LIFE    OP   WASHINGTON.  [1755. 

first  singly,  then  in  masses,  flying  in  confusion,  with  a 
rattling  fire  behind  them,  and  the  horrible  Indian  war- 
whoop.  Consternation  seized  npon  the  camp,  espe- 
cially when  the  French  emerged  from  the  forest  in  bat- 
tle array,  led  by  the  Baron  Dieskau,  the  gallant  com- 
mander of  Crown  Point.  Had  all  his  troops  been  as 
daring  as  himself,  the  camp  might  have  been  carried 
by  assault ;  but  the  Canadians  and  Indians  held  back, 
posted  themselves  behind  trees,  and  took  to  bush- 
fighting. 

The  baron  was  left  with  his  regulars  (two  hundred 
grenadiers)  in  front  of  the  camp.  He  kept  up  a  fire 
by  platoons,  but  at  too  great  a  distance  to  do  much 
mischief;  the  Canadians  and  Indians  fired  from  their 
coverts.  The  artillery  played  on  them  in  return.  The 
camp,  having  recovered  from  its  panic,  opened  a  fire 
of  musketry.  The  engagement  became  general.  The 
French  grenadiers  stood  their  ground  bravely  for  a  long 
time,  but  were  dreadfully  cut  up  by  the  artillery  and 
small  arms.  The  action  slackened  on  the  part  of  the 
French,  until,  after  a  long  contest,  they  gave  way. 
Johnson's  men  and  the  Indians  then  leaped  over  the 
breastwork,  and  a  chance  medley  fight  ensued,  that 
ended  in  the  slaughter,  rout,  or  capture  of  the  enemy. 

The  Baron  de  Dieskau  had  been  disabled  by  a 
wound  in  the  leg.  One  of  his  men,  who  endeavored 
to  assist  him,  was  shot  down  by  his  side.  The  baron, 
left  alone  in  the  retreat,  was  found  by  the  pursuers 
leaning  against  a  stump  of  a  tree.  As  they  ap- 
proached, he  felt  for  his  watch  to  insure  kind  treat- 
ment by  delivering  it  up.  A  soldier,  thinking  he  was 
drawing  forth  a  pistol  to  defend  himself,  shot  him 


1755.]  JOHNSON    RECEIVES    A   BARONETCY.  223 

through  the  hips.     He  was  conveyed  a  prisoner  to  the 
camp,  but  ultimately  died  of  his  wounds. 

The  baron  had  really  set  off  from  Crown  Point  to 
surprise  Fort  Edward,  and,  if  successful,  to  push  on  to 
Albany  and  Schenectady ;  lay  them  in  ashes,  and  cut 
off  all  communication  with  Oswego.  The  Canadians 
and  Indians,  however,  refused  to  attack  the  fort,  fear 
ful  of  its  cannon ;  he  had  changed  his  plan,  therefore, 
and  determined  to  surprise  the  camp.  In  the  encoun- 
ter with  the  detachment  under  Williams,  the  brave 
Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre  lost  his  life.  On 
the  part  of  the  Americans,  Hendrick,  a  famous  old 
Mohawk  sachem,  grand  ally  of  General  Johnson,  was 
slain. 

Johnson  himself  received  a  slight  wound  early  in 
the  action,  and  retired  to  his  tent.  He  did  not  follow 
up  the  victory  as  he  should  have  done,  alleging  that  it 
was  first  necessary  to  build  a  strong  fort  at  his  en- 
campment, by  way  of  keeping  up  a  communication 
with  Albany,  and  by  the  time  this  was  completed,  it 
would  be  too  late  to  advance  against  Crown  Point. 
He  accordingly  erected  a  stockaded  fort,  which  re- 
ceived the  name  of  William  Henry ;  and  having  garri- 
soned it,  returned  to  Albany.  His  services,  although 
they  gained  him  no  laurel-wreath,  were  rewarded  by 
government  with  five  thousand  pounds,  and  a  baro- 
netcy; and  he  was  made  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Affairs.* 

*  Johnson's  Letter  to  the  Colonial  Governors,  Sept.  9th,  1*753.    London 
Mag.,  1755,  p.  544.    Holmes's  Am.  Annals,  voL  ii.,  p.  63.    4th  edit.,  1829. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

P.EFOEM  IN  THE  MILITIA  LAWS — DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  TEOOPS — DAGWOETHY 
AND    THE    QUESTION    OP    PRECEDENCE — WASHINGTON'S    JOTJENET    TO 

BOSTON — STYLE   OF  TEAVELLLNG CONFERENCE    WITH   SniELEY — THE 

EAEL  OF  LOUDOUN — MILITAEY  EULE  FOE  TnE  COLONIES — WASHINGTON 
AT  NEW  YOEK — MISS  MAEY  PHILIPSE. 

Mortifying  experience  had  convinced  Washington  of 
the  inefficiency  of  the  militia  laws,  and  he  now  set 
about  effecting  a  reformation.  Through  his  great  and 
persevering  efforts,  an  act  was  passed  in  the  Virginia 
Legislature  giving  prompt  operation  to  courts-martial ; 
punishing  insubordination,  mutiny  and  desertion  with 
adequate  severity;  strengthening  the  authority  of  a 
commander,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  enforce  order  and 
discipline  among  officers  as  well  as  privates;  and  to 
avail  himself,  in  time  of  emergency,  and  for  the  com- 
mon safety,  of  the  means  and  services  of  individuals. 

This  being  effected,  he  proceeded  to  fill  up  his 
companies,  and  to  enforce  this  newly-defined  authority 
within  his  camp.  All  gaming,  drinking,  quarrelling, 
swearing,  and  similar  excesses,  were  prohibited  under 
severe  penalties. 


1755.J  CAPTAIN    DAGWORTHY.  225 

In  disciplining  his  men,  they  were  instructed  not 
merely  in  ordinary  and  regular  tactics,  but  in  all  the 
strategy  of  Indian  warfare,  and  what  is  called  "  bush- 
fighting," — a  knowledge  indispensable  in  the  wild  wars 
of  the  wilderness.  Stockaded  forts,  too,  were  con- 
structed at  various  points,  as  places  of  refuge  and  de- 
fence, in  exposed  neighborhoods.  Under  shelter  of 
these,  the  inhabitants  began  to  return  to  their  deserted 
homes.  A  shorter  and  better  road,  also,  was  opened 
by  him  between  Winchester  and  Cumberland,  for  the 
transmission  of  reinforcements  and  supplies. 

His  exertions,  however,  were  impeded  by  one  of 
those  questions  of  precedence,  which  had  so  often  an- 
noyed him,  arising  from  the  difference  between  crown 
and  provincial  commissions.  Maryland  having  by  a 
scanty  appropriation  raised  a  small  militia  force,  sta- 
tioned Captain  Dagworthy,  with  a  company  of  thirty 
men,  at  Tort  Cumberland,  which  stood  within  the 
boundaries  of  that  province.  Dagworthy  had  served 
in  Canada  in  the  preceding  war,  and  had  received  a 
king's  commission.  This  he  had  since  commuted  for 
half-pay,  and,  of  course,  had  virtually  parted  with  its 
privileges.  He  was  nothing  more,  therefore,  than  a 
Maryland  provincial  captain,  at  the  head  of  thirty  men. 
He  now,  however,  assumed  to  act  under  his  royal  com- 
mission, and  refused  to  obey  the  orders  of  any  officer, 
however  high  his  rank,  who  merely  held  his  commis- 
sion from  a  governor.  Nay,  when  Governor,  or  rather 
Colonel  Innes,  who  commanded  at  the  fort,  was  called 
away  to  North  Carolina  by  his  private  affairs,  the  cap- 
tain took  upon  himself  the  command,  and  insisted 
upon  it  as  his  right. 

VOL.  I. 15 


226  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

Parties  instantly  arose,  and  quarrels  ensued  among 
the  inferior  officers ;  grave  questions  were  agitated  be- 
tween the  Governors  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  as  to 
the  fort  itself;  the  former  claiming  it  as  within  his 
province,  the  latter  insisting  that,  as  it  had  been  built 
according  to  orders  sent  by  the  king,  it  was  the  king's 
fort,  and  could  not  be  subject  to  the  authority  of 
Maryland. 

Washington  refrained  from  mingling  in  this  dis- 
pute ;  but  intimated,  that  if  the  commander-in-chief  of 
the  forces  of  Virginia  must  yield  precedence  to  a  Mary- 
land captain  of  thirty  men,  he  should  have  to  resign 
his  commission,  as  he  had  been  compelled  to  do  before, 
by  a  question  of  military  rank. 

So  difficult  was  it,  however,  to  settle  these  disputes 
of  precedence,  especially  where  the  claims  of  two  gov- 
ernors came  in  collision,  that  it  was  determined  to  refer 
the  matter  to  Major-general  Shirley,  who  had  succeed- 
ed Braddock  in  the  general  command  of  the  colonies. 
For  this  purpose  Washington  was  to  go  to  Boston, 
obtain  a  decision  from  Shirley  of  the  point  in  dispute, 
and  a  general  regulation,  by  which  these  difficulties 
could  be  prevented  in  future.  It  was  thought,  also, 
that  in  a  conference  with  the  commander-in-chief  he 
might  inform  himself  of  the  military  measures  in  con- 
templation. 

Accordingly,  on  the  4th  of  February  (1756),  leaving 
Colonel  Adam  Stephens  in  command  of  the  troops, 
Washington  set  out  on  his  mission,  accompanied  by  his 
aide-de-camp,  Captain  George  Mercer  of  Virginia,  and 
Captain  Stewart  of  the  Virginia  light  horse ;  the  officer 


1756.]  JOURNEY    TO    BOSTON.  227 

who  had  taken  care  of  General  Braddock  in  his  last 
moments. 

In  those  days  the  conveniences  of  travelling,  even 
between  onr  main  cities,  were  few,  and  the  roads  ex- 
ecrable. The  party,  therefore,  travelled  in  Virginia 
style,  on  horseback,  attended  by  their  black  servants  in 
livery.*  In  this  way  they  accomplished  a  journey  of 
five  hundred  miles  in  the  depth  of  winter ;  stopping  for 
some  days  at  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Those  cities 
were  then  comparatively  small,  and  the  arrival  of  a 
party  of  young  Southern  officers  attracted  attention. 
The  late  disastrous  battle  was  still  the  theme  of  every 
tongue,  and  the  honorable  way  in  which  these  young 
officers  had  acquitted  themselves  in  it,  made  them 
objects  of  universal  interest.  Washington's  fame, 
especially,  had  gone  before  him ;  having  been  spread 
by  the  officers  who  had  served  with  him,  and  by  the 

*  We  have  hitherto  treated  of  Washington  in  his  campaigns  in  the 
wilderness,  frugal  and  scanty  in  his  equipments,  often,  very  probably,  in 
little  better  than  hunter's  garb.  His  present  excursion  through  some  of  the 
Atlantic  cities  presents  him  in  a  different  aspect.  His  recent  intercourse 
with  young  British  officers,  had  probably  elevated  his  notions  as  to  style  in 
dress  and  appearance  ;  at  least  we  are  inclined  to  suspect  so  from  the  fol- 
lowing aristocratical  order  for  clothes,  sent  shortly  before  the  time  in  ques- 
tion, to  his  correspondent  in  London. 

"2  complete  livery  suits  for  servants;  with  a  spare  cloak,  and  all  other 
necessary  trimmings  for  two  suits  more.  I  would  have  you  choose  the 
livery  by  our  arms,  only  as  the  field  of  the  arms  is  white,  I  think  the 
clothes  had  better  not  be  quite  so,  but  nearly  like  the  inclosed.  The  trim- 
mings and  facings  of  scarlet,  and  a  scarlet  waistcoat.  If  livery  lace  is  not 
quite  disused,  I  should  be  glad  to  have  the  cloaks  laced.  I  like  that  fashion 
best,  and  two  silver-laced  hats  for  the  above  servants. 

"  1  set  of  horse  furniture,  with  livery  lace,  with  the  Washington  crest 
on  the  housings,  &c.  The  cloak  to  be  of  the  same  piece  and  color  of  the 
clothes. 

"  3  gold  and  scarlet  sword-knots.  3  silver  and  blue  do.  1  fashionable 
gold-laced  hat." 


228  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

public  honors  decreed  him  by  the  Virginia  Legislature. 
"  Your  name,"  wrote  his  former  fellow-campaigner,  Gist, 
in  a  letter  dated  in  the  preceding  autumn,  "  is  more 
talked  of  in  Philadelphia  than  that  of  any  other  person 
in  the  army,  and  every  body  seems  willing  to  venture 
under  your  command." 

With  these  prepossessions  in  his  favor,  when  we 
consider  "Washington's  noble  person  and  demeanor,  his 
consummate  horsemanship,  the  admirable  horses  he 
was  accustomed  to  ride,  and  the  aristocratical  style  of 
his  equipments,  we  may  imagine  the  effect  produced 
by  himself  and  his  little  cavalcade,  as  they  clattered 
through  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  and  New  York, 
and  Boston.  It  is  needless  to  say,  their  sojourn  in 
each  city  was  a  continual  fete. 

The  mission  to  General  Shirley  wras  entirely  suc- 
cessful as  to  the  question  of  rank.  A  written  order 
from  the  commander-in-chief,  determined  that  Dag- 
worthy  was  entitled  to  the  rank  of  a  provincial  captain 
only,  and,  of  course,  must  on  all  occasions  give  prece- 
dence to  Colonel  Washington,  as  a  provincial  field  offi- 
cer. The  latter  was  disappointed,  however,  in  the  hope 
of  getting  himself  and  his  officers  put  upon  the  regu- 
lar establishment,  with  commissions  from  the  king,  and 
had  to  remain  subjected  to  mortifying  questions  of 
rank  and  etiquette,  when  serving  in  company  with  re- 
gular troops. 

Prom  General  Shirley  he  learnt  that  the  main 
objects  of  the  ensuing  campaign  would  be  the  reduc- 
tion of  Port  Niagara,  so  as  to  cut  off  the  communica- 
tion between  Canada  and  Louisiana;  the  capture  of 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  as  a  measure  of  safety 


1756.]  THE   EARL   OF   LOUDOUN.  229 

for  New  York ;  the  besieging  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and 
the  menacing  of  Quebec  by  a  body  of  troops  which 
were  to  advance  by  the  Kennebec  River. 

The  official  career  of  General  Shirley  was  drawing 
to  a  close.  Though  a  man  of  good  parts,  he  had 
always,  until  recently,  acted  in  a  civil  capacity,  and 
proved  incompetent  to  conduct  military  operations. 
He  was  recalled  to  England,  and  was  to  be  superseded 
by  General  Abercrombie,  who  was  coming  out  with 
two  regiments. 

The  general  command  in  America,  however,  was  to 
be  held  by  the  Earl  of  Loudoun,  who  was  invested 
with  powers  almost  equal  to  those  of  a  viceroy,  being 
placed  above  all  the  colonial  governors.  These  might 
claim  to  be  civil  and  military  representatives  of  their 
sovereign  within  their  respective  colonies ;  but,  even 
there,  were  bound  to  defer  and  yield  precedence  to  this 
their  official  superior.  This  was  part  of  a  plan  devised 
long  since,  but  now  first  brought  into  operation,  by 
which  the  ministry  hoped  to  unite  the  colonies  under 
military  rule,  and  oblige  the  Assemblies,  magistrates, 
and  people  to  furnish  quarters  and  provide  a  general 
fund  subject  to  the  control  of  this  military  dictator. 

Beside  his  general  command,  the  Earl  of  Loudoun 
was  to  be  governor  of  Virginia  and  colonel  of  a  royal 
American  regiment  of  four  battalions,  to  be  raised  in 
the  colonies,  but  furnished  with  officers  who,  like  him- 
self, had  seen  foreign  service.  The  campaign  would 
open  on  his  arrival,  which,  it  was  expected,  would  be 
early  in  the  spring ;  and  brilliant  results  were  antici- 
pated. 

Washington  remained  ten  days  in  Boston,  attend- 


230  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

ing,  with  great  interest,  the  meetings  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Legislature,  in  which  the  plan  of  military  opera- 
tions was  ably  discussed ;  and  receiving  the  most  hos- 
pitable attentions  from  the  polite  and  intelligent  society 
of  the  place,  after  which  he  returned  to  New  York. 

Tradition  gives  very  different  motives  from  those  of 
business  for  his  two  sojourns  in  the  latter  city.  He 
found  there  an  early  friend  and  school-mate,  Beverly 
Robinson,  son  of  John  Robinson,  speaker  of  the  Vir- 
ginia House  of  Burgesses.  He  was  living  happily  and 
prosperously  with  a  young  and  wealthy  bride,  having 
married  one  of  the  nieces  and  heiresses  of  Mr.  Adol- 
phus  Philipse,  a  rich  landholder,  whose  manor-house  is 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  At  the 
house  of  Mr.  Beverly  Robinson,  where  Washington 
was  an  honored  guest,  he  met  Miss  Mary  Philipse,  sis- 
ter and  co-heiress  of  Mrs.  Robinson,  a  young  lady 
whose  personal  attractions  are  said  to  have  rivalled  her 
reputed  wealth. 

We  have  already  given  an  instance  of  Washington's 
early  sensibility  to  female  charms.  A  life,  however,  of 
constant  activity  and  care,  passed  for  the  most  part  in 
the  wilderness  and  on  the  frontier,  far  from  female  soci- 
ety, had  left  little  mood  or  leisure  for  the  indulgence  of 
the  tender  sentiment ;  but  made  him  more  sensible,  in 
the  present  brief  interval  of  gay  and  social  life,  to  the 
attractions  of  an  elegant  woman,  brought  up  in  the 
polite  circle  of  New  York. 

That  he  was  an  open  admirer  of  Miss  Philipse  is 
an  historical  fact ;  that  he  sought  her  hand,  but  was 
refused,  is  traditional,  and  not  very  probable.  His 
military  rank,  his  early  laurels  and  distinguished  pres- 


1756.]  MISS    MARY   PHILIPSE.  231 

ence,  were  all  calculated  to  win  favor  in  female  eyes ; 
but  his  sojourn  in  New  York  was  brief;  he  may  have 
been  diffident  in  urging  his  suit  with  a  lady  accustomed 
to  the  homage  of  society,  and  surrounded  by  admirers. 
The  most  probable  version  of  the  story  is,  that  he  was 
called  away  by  his  public  duties  before  he  had  made 
sufficient  approaches  in  his  siege  of  the  lady's  heart  to 
warrant  a  summons  to  surrender.  In  the  latter  part 
of  March  we  find  him  at  Williamsburg,  attending  the 
opening  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  eager  to  pro- 
mote measures  for  the  protection  of  the  frontier  and 
the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne,  the  leading  object  of  his 
ambition.  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  were  erecting 
forts  for  the  defence  of  their  own  borders,  but  showed 
no  disposition  to  co-operate  with  Virginia  in  the  field ; 
and  artillery,  artillerymen,  and  engineers  were  wanting 
for  an  attack  on  fortified  places.  Washington  urged, 
therefore,  an  augmentation  of  the  provincial  forces, 
and  various  improvements  in  the  militia  laws. 

While  thus  engaged,  he  received  a  letter  from  a 
friend  and  confidant  in  New  York,  warning  him  to 
hasten  back  to  that  city  before  it  was  too  late,  as  Cap- 
tain Morris,  who  had  been  his  fellow  aide-de-camp  under 
Braddock,  was  laying  close  siege  to  Miss  Philipse. 
Sterner  alarms,  however,  summoned  him  in  another 
direction.  Expresses  from  Winchester  brought  word 
that  the  Trench  had  made  another  sortie  from  Port 
Duquesne,  accompanied  by  a  band  of  savages,  and 
were  spreading  terror  and  desolation  through  the  coun- 
try. In  this  moment  of  exigency  all  softer  claims  were 
forgotten;  Washington  repaired  in  all  haste  to  his 
post  at  Winchester,  and  Captain  Morris  was  left  to 
urge  his  suit  unrivalled  and  carry  off  the  prize. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

TROUBLES  IN  THE  SHENANDOAn  VALLEY — GEEENWAY  COUET  AND  LOED 
FAIEFAX  IN  DANGEE — ALAEMS  AT  WINCHESTEE — WASHINGTON  AP- 
PEALED  TO   FOE  PEOTECTION — ATTACKED  BY  THE  VIRGINIA  PEESS — 

HONORED    BY    THE    PUBLIC PROJECTS    FOE    DEFENCE — SUGGESTIONS 

OF  WASHINGTON — THE    GENTLEMEN    ASSOOIATOES — EETEEAT   OF   THE 

8AVAGES — EXPEDITION  AGAINST  KITTANNING CAPTAIN  nUGH  MEECER 

SECOND  STBUGGLE  THEOUGH  THE  WILDEENESS. 

Report  had  not  exaggerated  the  troubles  of  the  fron- 
tier. It  was  marauded  by  merciless  bands  of  savages, 
led,  in  some  instances,  by  Frenchmen.  Travellers 
were  murdered,  farm-houses  burnt  down,  families 
butchered,  and  even  stockaded  forts,  or  houses  of 
refuge,  attacked  in  open  day.  The  marauders  had 
crossed  the  mountains  and  penetrated  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah;  and  several  persons  had  fallen  beneath 
the  tomahawk  in  the  neighborhood  of  Winchester. 

Washington's  old  friend,  Lord  Fairfax,  found  him- 
self no  longer  safe  in  his  rural  abode.  Greenway 
Court  was  in  the  midst  of  a  woodland  region,  afford- 
ing a  covert  approach  for  the  stealthy  savage.  His 
lordship  was  considered  a  great  chief,  whose  scalp 
would  be  an  inestimable  trophy  for  an  Indian  warrior. 


1756.]  LORD    FAIRFAX   IN    DANGER.  233 

Fears  were  entertained,  therefore,  by  his  friends,  that 
an  attempt  would  be  made  to  surprise  him  in  his  green- 
wood castle.  His  nephew,  Colonel  Martin,  of  the  mi- 
litia, who  resided  with  him,  suggested  the  expediency 
of  a  removal  to  the  lower  settlements,  beyond  the  Blue 
Ridge.  The  high-spirited  old  nobleman  demurred; 
his  heart  cleaved  to  the  home  which  he  had  formed 
for  himself  in  the  wilderness.  "  I  am  an  old  man," 
said  he,  "  and  it  is  of  little  importance  whether  I  fall 
by  the  tomahawk,  or  die  of  disease  and  old  age ;  but 
you  are  young,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  have  many  years 
before  you,  therefore  decide  for  us  both ;  my  only  fear 
is,  that  if  we  retire,  the  whole  district  will  break  up 
and  take  to  flight ;  and  this  fine  country,  which  I  have 
been  at  such  cost  and  trouble  to  improve,  will  again 
become  a  wilderness." 

Colonel  Martin  took  but  a  short  time  to  deliberate. 
He  knew  the  fearless  character  of  his  uncle,  and  per- 
ceived what  was  his  inclination.  He  considered  that 
his  lordship  had  numerous  retainers,  white  and  black, 
with  hardy  huntsmen  and  foresters  to  rally  round  him, 
and  that  Greenway  Court  was  at  no  great  distance  from 
Winchester;  he  decided,  therefore,  that  they  should 
remain  and  abide  the  course  of  events. 

Washington,  on  his  arrival  at  Winchester,  found 
the  inhabitants  in  great  dismay.  He  resolved  immedi- 
ately to  organize  a  force,  composed  partly  of  troops 
from  Port  Cumberland,  partly  of  militia  from  Winches- 
ter and  its  vicinity ;  to  put  himself  at  its  head,  and 
"scour  the  woods  and  suspected  places  in  all  the 
mountains  and  valleys  of  this  part  of  the  frontier,  in 
quest  of  the  Indians  and  their  more  cruel  associates." 


234  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

He  accordingly  despatched  an  express  to  Fort 
Cumberland  with  orders  for  a  detachment  from  the 
garrison ;  "  but  how,"  said  he,  "  are  men  to  be  raised 
at  Winchester,  since  orders  are  no  longer  regarded  in 
the  county  ?  " 

Lord  Fairfax,  and  other  militia  officers  with  whom 
he  consulted,  advised  that  each  captain  should  call  a 
private  muster  of  his  men,  and  read  before  them  an 
address,  or  "  exhortation  "  as  it  was  called,  being  an 
appeal  to  their  patriotism  and  fears,  and  a  summons  to 
assemble  on  the  1 5th  of  April  to  enroll  themselves  for 
the  projected  mountain  foray. 

This  measure  was  adopted ;  the  private  musterings 
occurred ;  the  exhortation  was  read ;  the  time  and 
place  of  assemblage  appointed ;  but,  when  the  day  of 
enrolment  arrived,  not  more  than  fifteen  men  appeared 
upon  the  ground.  In  the  mean  time  the  express  re- 
turned with  sad  accounts  from  Fort  Cumberland.  No 
troops  could  be  furnished  from  that  quarter.  The  gar- 
rison was  scarcely  strong  enough  for  self-defence,  hav- 
ing sent  out  detachments  in  different  directions.  The 
express  had  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life,  having  been 
fired  upon  repeatedly,  his  horse  shot  under  him,  and 
his  clothes  riddled  with  bullets.  The  roads,  he  said, 
were  infested  by  savages ;  none  but  hunters,  who  knew 
how  to  thread  the  forests  at  night,  could  travel  with 
safety. 

Horrors  accumulated  at  Winchester.  Every  hour 
brought  its  tale  of  terror,  true  or  false,  of  houses 
burnt,  families  massacred,  or  beleaguered  and  famish- 
ing in  stockaded  forts.  The  danger  approached.  A 
scouting  party  had  been  attacked  in  the  Warm  Spring 


1756.J  TERROR  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  WINCHESTER.   235 

Mountain,  about  twenty  miles  distant,  by  a  large  body 
of  French  and  Indians,  mostly  on  horseback.  The 
captain  of  the  scouting  party  and  several  of  his  men 
had  been  slain,  and  the  rest  put  to  flight. 

An  attack  on  Winchester  was  apprehended,  and 
the  terrors  of  the  people  rose  to  agony.  They  now 
turned  to  Washington  as  their  main  hope.  The  women 
surrounded  him,  holding  up  their  children,  and  implor- 
ing him  with  tears  and  cries  to  save  them  from  the  sav- 
ages. The  youthful  commander  looked  round  on  the 
suppliant  crowd  with  a  countenance  beaming  with  pity, 
and  a  heart  wrung  with  anguish.  A  letter  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie  shows  the  conflict  of  his  feelings.  "lam 
too  little  acquainted  with  pathetic  language  to  attempt 
a  description  of  these  people's  distresses..  But  what 
can  I  do  ?  I  see  their  situation  ;  I  know  their  danger, 
and  participate  their  sufferings,  without  having  it  in  my 
power  to  give  them  further  relief  than  uncertain  pro- 
mises."— "  The  supplicating  tears  of  the  women,  and 
moving  petitions  of  the  men,  melt  me  into  such  deadly 
sorrow,  that  I  solemnly  declare,  if  I  know  my  own 
mind,  I  could  offer  myself  a  willing  sacrifice  to  the 
butchering  enemy,  provided  that  would  contribute  to 
the  people's  ease." 

The  unstudied  eloquence  of  this  letter  drew  from 
the  governor  an  instant  order  for  a  militia  force  from 
the  upper  counties  to  his  assistance ;  but  the  Virginia 
newspapers,  in  descanting  on  the  frontier  troubles, 
threw  discredit  on  the  army  and  its  officers,  and  at- 
tached blame  to  its  commander.  Stung  to  the  quick 
by  this  injustice,  Washington  publicly  declared,  that 
nothing  but  the  imminent  danger  of  the  times  prevent- 


236  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

ed  him  from  instantly  resigning  a  command  from  which 
he  could  never  reap  either  honor  or  benefit.  His  sensi- 
tiveness called  forth  strong  letters  from  his  friends, 
assuring  him  of  the  high  sense  entertained  at  the  seat 
of  government,  and  elsewhere,  of  his  merits  and  ser- 
vices. "  Your  good  health  and  fortune  are  the  toast  of 
every  table,"  wrote  his  early  friend,  Colonel  Fairfax,  at 
that  time  a  member  of  the  governor's  council.  "  Your 
endeavors  in  the  service  and  defence  of  your  country 
must  redound  to  your  honor." 

"  Our  hopes,  dear  George,"  wrote  Mr.  Robinson, 
the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  "  are  all  fixed 
on  you  for  bringing  our  affairs  to  a  happy  issue.  Con- 
sider what  fatal  consequences  to  your  country  your 
resigning  the  command  at  this  time  may  be,  especially 
as  there  is  no  doubt  most  of  the  officers  will  follow 
your  example." 

In  fact,  the  situation  and  services  of  the  youthful 
commander,  shut  up  in  a  frontier  town,  destitute  of 
forces,  surrounded  by  savage  foes,  gallantly,  though  de- 
spairingly, devoting  himself  to  the  safety  of  a  suffering 
people,  were  properly  understood  throughout  the  coun- 
try, and  excited  a  glow  of  enthusiasm  in  his  favor. 
The  Legislature,  too,  began  at  length  to  act,  but  timid- 
ly and  inefficiently.  "  The  country  knows  her  danger," 
writes  one  of  the  members,  "  but  such  is  her  parsi- 
mony, that  she  is  willing  to  wait  for  the  rains  to  wet 
the  powder,  and  the  rats  to  eat  the  bowstrings  of  the 
enemy,  rather  than  attempt  to  drive  them  from  her 
frontiers." 

The  measure  of  relief  voted  by  the  Assembly,  was 
an  additional  appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  pounds, 


1756.]  PROJECTS   FOR   DEFENCE.  237 

and  an  increase  of  the  provincial  force  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred men.  With  this,  it  was  proposed  to  erect  and 
garrison  a  chain  of  frontier  forts,  extending  through 
the  ranges  of  the  Allegany  Mountains,  from  the  Poto- 
mac to  the  borders  of  North  Carolina ;  a  distance  of 
between  three  and  four  hundred  miles.  This  was  one 
of  the  inconsiderate  projects  devised  by  Governor  Din- 
widdie. 

Washington,  in  letters  to  the  governor  and  to  the 
speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  urged  the  impolicy 
of  such  a  plan,  with  their  actual  force  and  means. 
The  forts,  he  observed,  ought  to  be  within  fifteen  or 
eighteen  miles  of  each  other,  that  their  spies  might  be 
able  to  keep  watch  over  the  intervening  country ;  oth- 
erwise the  Indians  would  pass  between  them  unper- 
ceived,  effect  their  ravages,  and  escape  to  the  moun- 
tains, swamps,  and  ravines,  before  the  troops  from  the 
forts  could  be  assembled  to  pursue  them.  They  ought 
each  to  be  garrisoned  with  eighty  or  a  hundred  men, 
so  as  to  afford  detachments  of  sufficient  strength,  with- 
out leaving  the  garrison  too  weak ;  for  the  Indians  are 
the  most  stealthy  and  patient  of  spies  and  lurkers ;  will 
lie  in  wait  for  days  together  about  small  forts  of  the 
kind,  and,  if  they  find,  by  some  chance  prisoner,  that 
the  garrison  is  actually  weak,  will  first  surprise  and  cut 
off  its  scouting  parties,  and  then  attack  the  fort  itself. 
It  was  evident,  therefore,  observed  he,  that  to  garrison 
properly  such  a  line  of  forts,  would  require,  at  least, 
two  thousand  men.  And  even  then,  a  line  of  such  ex- 
tent might  be  broken  through  at  one  end  before  the 
other  end  could  yield  assistance.  Feint  attacks,  also, 
might  be  made  at  one  point,  while  the  real  attack  was 


238  LIFE    OP   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

made  at  another,  quite  distant,  and  the  country  be 
overrun  before  its  widely-posted  defenders  could  be 
alari  aed  and  concentrated.  Then  must  be  taken  into 
consideration  the  immense  cost  of  building  so  many 
forts,  and  the  constant  and  consuming  expense  of  sup- 
plies and  transportation. 

His  idea  of  a  defensive  plan  was  to  build  a  strong 
fort  at  Winchester,  the  central  point,  where  all  the 
main  roads  met  of  a  wide  range  of  scattered  settle- 
ments, where  tidings  could  soonest  be  collected  from 
every  quarter,  and  whence  reinforcements  and  supplies 
could  most  readily  be  forwarded.  It  was  to  be  a  grand 
deposit  of  military  stores,  a  residence  for  commanding 
officers,  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  women  and  children 
in  time  of  alarm,  when  the  men  had  suddenly  to  take 
the  field ;  in  a  word,  it  was  to  be  the  citadel  of  the 
frontier. 

Beside  this,  he  would  have  three  or  four  large  for- 
tresses erected  at  convenient  distances  upon  the  frontier, 
with  powerful  garrisons,  so  as  to  be  able  to  throw  out, 
in  constant  succession,  strong  scouting  parties,  to  range 
the  country.  Port  Cumberland  he  condemned  as  being 
out  of  the  province,  and  out  of  the  track  of  Indian 
incursions  ;  insomuch  that  it  seldom  received  an  alarm 
until  all  the  mischief  had  been  effected. 

His  representations  with  respect  to  military  laws 
and  regulations  were  equally  cogent.  In  the  late  act 
of  the  Assembly  for  raising  a  regiment,  it  was  pro- 
vided that,  in  cases  of  emergency,  if  recruits  should 
not  offer  in  sufficient  number,  the  militia  might  be 
drafted  to  supply  the  deficiencies,  but  only  to  serve 
until  December,  and  not  to  be  marched  out  of  the 


1756.]  SUGGESTIONS    OE   WASHINGTON.  239 

province.  In  this  case,  said  he,  before  they  have  en- 
tered  upon  service,  or  got  the  least  smattering  of  duty, 
they  will  claim  a  discharge ;  if  they  are  pursuing  an 
enemy,  who  has  committed  the  most  unheard-of  cruel- 
ties, he  has  only  to  step  across  the  Potomac,  and  he  is 
safe.  Then  as  to  the  limits  of  service,  they  might  just 
as  easily  have  been  enlisted  for  seventeen  months,  as 
seven.  They  would  then  have  been  seasoned  as  well 
as  disciplined;  "for  we  find  by  experience,"  says  he, 
"that  our  poor  ragged  soldiers  would  kill  the  most 
active  militia  in  five  days'  marching." 

Then,  as  to  punishments  :  death,  it  was  true,  had 
been  decreed  for  mutiny  and  desertion ;  but  there  was 
no  punishment  for  cowardice  ;  for  holding  correspond- 
ence with  the  enemy ;  for  quitting,  or  sleeping  on  one's 
post ;  all  capital  offences,  according  to  the  military  code 
of  Europe.  Neither  were  there  provisions  for  quarter- 
ing or  billeting  soldiers,  or  impressing  waggons  and 
other  conveyances,  in  times  of  exigency.  To  crown 
all,  no  court-martial  could  sit  out  of  Virginia  ;  a  most 
embarrassing  regulation,  when  troops  were  fifty  or  a 
hundred  miles  beyond  the  frontier.  He  earnestly  sug- 
gested amendments  on  all  these  points,  as  well  as  with 
regard  to  the  soldiers'  pay ;  which  was  less  than  that 
of  the  regular  troops,  or  the  troops  of  most  of  the 
other  provinces. 

All  these  suggestions,  showing  at  this  youthful 
age  that  forethought  and  circumspection  which  distin- 
guished him  throughout  life,  were  repeatedly  and  elo- 
quently urged  upon  Governor  Dinwiddie,  with  very 
little  effect.  The  plan  of  a  frontier  line  of  twenty- 
three  forts  was  persisted  in.     Port  Cumberland  was 


240  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

pertinaciously  kept  up  at  a  great  and  useless  expense 
of  men  and  money,  and  the  militia  laws  remained  lax 
and  inefficient.  It  was  decreed,  however,  that  the 
great  central  fort  at  Winchester,  recommended  by 
Washington,  should  be  erected. 

In  the  height  of  the  alarm,  a  company  of  one  hun- 
dred gentlemen,  mounted  and  equipped,  volunteered 
their  services  to  repair  to  the  frontier.  They  were 
headed  by  Peyton  Randolph,  attorney-general,  a  man 
deservedly  popular  throughout  the  province.  Their 
offer  was  gladly  accepted.  They  were  denominated  the 
"Gentlemen  Associators,"  and  great  expectations,  of 
course,  were  entertained  from  their  gallantry  and  devo- 
tion. They  were  empowered,  also,  to  aid  with  their 
judgment  in  the  selection  of  places  for  frontier  forts. 

The  "  Gentlemen  Associators,"  like  all  gentlemen 
associators  in  similar  emergencies,  turned  out  with 
great  zeal  and  spirit,  and  immense  popular  effect,  but 
wasted  their  fire  in  preparation,  and  on  the  march. 
Washington,  who  well  understood  the  value  of  such 
aid,  observed  dryly  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
"  I  am  heartily  glad  that  you  have  fixed  upon  these 
gentlemen  to  point  out  the  places  for  erecting  forts,  but 
regret  to  find  their  motions  so  slow."  There  is  no 
doubt  that  they  would  have  conducted  themselves  gal- 
lantly, had  they  been  put  to  the  test ;  but  before  they 
arrived  near  the  scene  of  danger  the  alarm  was  over. 
About  the  beginning  of  May,  scouts  brought  in  word 
that  the  tracks  of  the  marauding  savages  tended  toward 
Fort  Duquesne,  as  if  on  the  return.  In  a  little  while 
it  was  ascertained  that  they  had  recrossed  the  Allegany 
Mountain  to  the  Ohio  in  such  numbers  as  to  leave  a 


1755.]  EXPEDITION    AGAINST   KITTANNING.  241 

beaten  track,  equal  to  that  made  in  the  preceding  year 
by  the  army  of  Braddock. 

The  repeated  inroads  of  the  savages  called  for  an 
effectual  and  permanent  check.  The  idea  of  being 
constantly  subject  to  the  irruptions  of  a  deadly  foe, 
that  moved  with  stealth  and  mystery,  and  was  only  to 
be  traced  by  its  ravages,  and  counted  by  its  footprints, 
discouraged  all  settlement  of  the  country.  The  beau- 
tiful valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  fast  becoming  a  de- 
serted and  a  silent  place.  Her  people,  for  the  most 
part,  had  fled  to  the  older  settlements  south  of  the 
mountains,  and  the  Blue  Ridge  was  likely  soon  to  be- 
come virtually  the  frontier  line  of  the  province. 

We  have  to  record  one  signal  act  of  retaliation  on 
the  perfidious  tribes  of  the  Ohio,  in  which  a  person 
whose  name  subsequently  became  dear  to  Americans, 
was  concerned.  Prisoners  who  had  escaped  from  the 
ravages  reported  that  Shingis,  Washington's  faithless 
ally,  and  another  sachem,  called  Captain  Jacobs,  were 
the  two  heads  of  the  hostile  bands  that  had  desolated 
the  frontier.  That  they  lived  at  Kittanning,  an  Indian 
town,  about  forty  miles  above  Port  Duquesne;  at 
which  their  warriors  were  fitted  out  for  incursions,  and 
whither  they  returned  with  their  prisoners  and  plunder. 
Captain  Jacobs  was  a  daring  fellow,  and  scoffed  at  pali- 
sadoed  forts.  <'He  could  take  any  fort,"  he  said, 
"  that  would  catch  fire." 

A  party  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  provincials, 
resolute  men,  undertook  to  surprise,  and  destroy  this 
savage  nest.  It  was  commanded  by  Colonel  John 
Armstrong ;  and  with  him  went  Doctor,  now  Captain 
Hugh  Mercer,  eager  to  revenge  the  savage  atrocities  of 

VOL.  i. — 16 


242  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON. 


[1756. 


which  he  had  been  a  witness  at  the  defeat  of  Brad- 
dock. 

Armstrong  led  his  men  rapidly,  bnt  secretly,  over 
mountain,  and  through  forest,  until,  after  a  long  and 
perilous  march,  they  reached  the  Allegany.  It  was  a 
moonlight  night  when  they  arrived  in  the  neighbor- 
hood  of  Kittanning.  They  were  guided  to  the  village 
by  whoops  and  yells,  and  the  sound  of  the  Indian 
drum.  The  warriors  were  celebrating  their  exploits  by 
the  triumphant  scalp-dance.  After  a  while  the  revel 
ceased,  and  a  number  of  fires  appeared  here  and  there 
in  a  corn-field.  They  were  made  by  such  of  the  In- 
dians  as  slept  in  the  open  air,  and  were  intended  to 
drive  off  the  gnats.  Armstrong  and  his  men  lay 
down  "quiet  and  hush,"  observing  every  thing  nar- 
rowly, and  waiting  until  the  moon  should  set,  and  the 
warriors  be  asleep.  At  length  the  moon  went  down, 
the  fires  burned  low ;  all  was  quiet.  Armstrong  now 
roused  his  men,  some  of  whom,  wearied  by  their  long 
march,  had  fallen  asleep.  He  divided  his  forces  ;  part 
were  to  attack  the  warriors  in  the  corn-field,  part  were 
despatched  to  the  houses,  which  were  dimly  seen  by 
the  first  streak  of  day.  There  was  sharp  firing  in  both 
quarters,  for  the  Indians,  though  taken  by  surprise, 
fought  bravely,  inspired  by  the  war-whoop  of  their 
chief,  Captain  Jacobs.  The  women  and  children  fled 
to  the  woods.  Several  of  the  provincials  were  killed 
and  wounded.  Captain  Hugh  Mercer  received  a 
wound  in  the  arm,  and  was  taken  to  the  top  of  a  hill. 
The  fierce  chieftain,  Captain  Jacobs,  was  besieged  in 
his  house,  which  had  port-holes ;  whence  he  and  his 
warriors  made  havoc  among  the  assailants.     The  ad- 


1756.]  BURNING   OF   KITTANNING.  243 

joining  houses  were  set  on  fire.  The  chief  was  sum- 
moned to  surrender  himself.  He  replied  he  was  a 
man,  and  would  not  be  a  prisoner.  He  was  told  he 
would  be  burnt.  His  reply  was,  "  he  would  kill  four 
or  five  before  he  died."  The  flames  and  smoke  ap- 
proached. "  One  of  the  besieged  warriors,  to  show  his 
manhood,  began  to  sing.  A  squaw  at  the  same  time 
was  heard  to  cry,  but  was  severely  rebuked  by  the 
men."  * 

In  the  end,  the  warriors  were  driven  out  by  the 
flames;  some  escaped,  and  some  were  shot.  Among 
the  latter  was  Captain  Jacobs,  and  his  gigantic  son, 
said  to  be  seven  feet  high.  Fire  was  now  set  to  all  the 
houses,  thirty  in  number.  "During  the  burning  of 
the  houses,"  says  Colonel  Armstrong,  "  we  were  agree- 
ably entertained  with  a  quick  succession  of  charged 
guns,  gradually  firing  off  as  reached  by  the  fire,  but 
much  more  so  with  the  vast  explosion  of  sundry  bags, 
and  large  kegs  of  powder,  wherewith  almost  every 
house  abounded."  The  colonel  was  in  a  strange  con- 
dition to  enjoy  such  an  entertainment,  having  received 
a  wound  from  a  large  musket-ball  in  the  shoulder. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  was  accomplished. 
Thirty  or  forty  of  the  warriors  were  slain ;  their  strong- 
hold was  a  smoking  ruin.  There  was  danger  of  the 
victors  being  cut  off  by  a  detachment  from  Port  Du- 
quesne.  They  made  the  best  of  their  way,  therefore, 
to  their  horses,  which  had  been  left  at  a  distance,  and 
set  off  rapidly  on  their  march  homewards. 

Captain   Hugh    Mercer  was    again    left   behind, 

*  Letter  from  Col.  Armstrong. 


244  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

wounded.  He  had  another  long,  solitary,  and  painful 
struggle  through  the  wilderness,  and  again  reached 
Fort  Cumberland  sick,  weary,  and  half  famished. — 
Heaven  reserved  him  to  illustrate  a  more  distinguished 
page  in  American  history.* 

*  Colonial  Register,  vii.,  257. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

FOUNDING  OP  FORT  LOUDOUN — WASHINGTON'S  TOUR  OF  INSPECTION — 
INEFFICIENCY  OF  THE  MILITIA  SYSTEM — GENTLEMEN  SOLDIERS — CROSS- 
PURPOSES  WITH  DINWIDDIE — MILITARY  AFFAIRS  IN  THE  NORTH — DE- 
LAYS OF  LORD  LOUDOUN — ACTIVITY  OF  MONTCALM — LOUDOUN  IN  WIN- 
TER QUARTERS. 

Throughout  the  summer  of  1756,  Washington  ex- 
erted himself  diligently  in  carrying  out  measures  deter- 
mined upon  for  frontier  security.  The  great  fortress  at 
Winchester  was  commenced,  and  the  work  urged  for- 
ward as  expeditiously  as  the  delays  and  perplexities 
incident  to  a  badly  organized  service  would  permit. 
It  received  the  name  of  Port  Loudoun,  in  honor  of 
the  commander-in-chief,  whose  arrival  in  Virginia  was 
hopefully  anticipated. 

As  to  the  sites  of  the  frontier  posts,  they  were  de- 
cided upon  by  Washington  and  his  officers,  after  fre- 
quent and  long  consultations ;  parties  were  sent  out  to 
work  on  them,  and  men  recruited,  and  militia  drafted, 
to  garrison  them.  Washington  visited  occasionally 
such  as  were  in  progress,  and  near  at  hand.  It  was  a 
service  of  some  peril,  for  the  mountains  and  forests 
were  still  infested  by  prowling  savages,  especially  in 


246  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

the  neighborhood  of  these  new  forts.  At  one  time 
when  he  was  reconnoitering  a  wild  part  of  the  conn- 
try,  attended  merely  by  a  servant  and  a  guide,  two  men 
were  murdered  by  the  Indians  in  a  solitary  defile, 
shortly  after  he  had  passed  through  it. 

In  the  autumn,  he  made  a  tour  of  inspection  along 
the  whole  line,  accompanied  by  his  friend,  Captain 
Hugh  Mercer,  who  had  recovered  from  his  recent 
wounds.  This  tour  furnished  repeated  proofs  of  the 
inefficiency  of  the  militia  system.  In  one  place  he 
attempted  to  raise  a  force  with  which  to  scour  a  region 
infested  by  roving  bands  of  savages.  After  waiting 
several  days,  but  five  men  answered  to  his  summons. 
In  another  place,  where  three  companies  had  been 
ordered  to  the  relief  of  a  fort,  attacked  by  the  Indians, 
all  that  could  be  mustered  were  a  captain,  a  lieutenant, 
and  seven  or  eight  men. 

When  the  militia  were  drafted,  and  appeared  under 
arms,  the  case  was  not  much  better.  It  was  now  late 
in  the  autumn ;  their  term  of  service,  by  the  act  of  the 
Legislature,  expired  in  December, — half  of  the  time, 
therefore,  was  lost  in  marching  out  and  home.  Their 
waste  of  provisions  was  enormous.  To  be  put  on  al- 
lowance, like  other  soldiers,  they  considered  an  indig- 
nity. They  would  sooner  starve  than  carry  a  few  days' 
provisions  on  their  backs.  On  the  march,  when  break- 
fast was  wanted,  they  would  knock  down  the  first 
beeve  they  met  with,  and,  after  regaling  themselves, 
march  on  till  dinner,  when  they  would  take  the  same 
method ;  and  so  for  supper,  to  the  great  oppression  of 
the  people.  For  the  want  of  proper  military  laws, 
they  were  obstinate,  self-willed,  and  perverse.     Every 


1756.]      INEFFICIENCY  OF  THE  MILITIA  SYSTEM.  247 

individual  had  his  own  crude  notion  of  things,  and 
would  undertake  to  direct.  If  his  advice  were  neg- 
lected, he  would  think  himself  slighted,  abused,  and 
injured,  and,  to  redress  himself,  would  depart  for  his 
home. 

The  garrisons  were  weak  for  want  of  men,  but 
more  so  from  indolence  and  irregularity.  None  were 
in  a  posture  of  defence ;  few  but  might  be  surprised 
with  the  greatest  ease.  At  one  fort,  the  Indians  rushed 
from  their  lurking-place,  pounced  upon  several  children 
playing  under  the  walls,  and  bore  them  off  before  they 
were  discovered.  Another  fort  was  surprised,  and 
many  of  the  people  massacred  in  the  same  manner. 
In  the  course  of  his  tour,  as  he  and  his  party  ap- 
proached a  fort,  he  heard  a  quick  firing  for  several 
minutes;  concluding  that  it  was  attacked,  they  has- 
tened to  its  relief,  but  found  the  garrison  were  merely 
amusing  themselves  firing  at  a  mark,  or  for  wagers. 
In  this  way  they  would  waste  their  ammunition  as 
freely  as  they  did  their  provisions.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country  were  in  a  wretched  situ- 
ation, feeling  the  little  dependence  to  be  put  on  militia, 
who  were  slow  in  coming  to  their  assistance,  indifferent 
about  their  preservation,  unwilling  to  continue,  and  re- 
gardless of  every  thing  but  of  their  own  ease.  In  short, 
they  were  so  apprehensive  of  approaching  ruin,  that 
the  whole  back  country  was  in  a  general  motion  towards 
the  southern  colonies. 

Prom  the  Catawba,  he  was  escorted  along  a  range 
of  forts  by  a  colonel,  and  about  thirty  men,  chiefly 
officers.  "With  this  small  company  of  irregulars," 
says  he,  "  with  whom  order,  regularity,  circumspection, 


248  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

and  vigilance  were  matters  of  derision  and  contempt, 
we  set  ont,  and,  by  the  protection  of  Providence, 
reached  Augusta  court-house  in  seven  days,  without 
meeting  the  enemy ;  otherwise,  we  must  have  fallen  a 
sacrifice,  through  the  indiscretion  of  these  whooping, 
hallooing,  gentlemen  soldiers  !  " 

How  lively  a  picture  does  this  give  of  the  militia 
system  at  all  times,  when  not  subjected  to  strict  mili- 
tary law. 

What  rendered  this  year's  service  peculiarly  irksome 
and  embarrassing  to  Washington,  was  the  nature  of  his 
correspondence  with  Governor  Dinwiddie.  That  gentle- 
man, either  from  the  natural  hurry  and  confusion  of  his 
mind,  or  from  a  real  disposition  to  perplex,  was  ex- 
tremely ambiguous  and  unsatisfactory  in  most  of  his 
orders  and  replies.  "  So  much  am  I  kept  in  the  dark," 
says  Washington,  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  that  I  do  not 
know  whether  to  prepare  for  the  offensive  or  defensive. 
What  would  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  one,  would 
be  quite  useless  for  the  other."  And  again:  "The 
orders  I  receive  are  full  of  ambiguity.  I  am  left  like  a 
wanderer  in  the  wilderness,  to  proceed  at  hazard.  I 
am  answerable  for  consequences,  and  blamed,  without 
the  privilege  of  defence." 

In  nothing  was  this  disposition  to  perplex  more  ap- 
parent than  in  the  governor's  replies  respecting  Port 
Cumberland.  Washington  had  repeatedly  urged  the 
abandonment  of  this  fort  as  a  place  of  frontier  deposit, 
being  within  the  bounds  of  another  province,  and  out 
of  the  track  of  Indian  incursion;  so  that  often  the 
alarm  would  not  reach  there  until  after  the  mischief 
had  been  effected.     He  applied,  at  length,  for  particular 


1766.]  cross-purposes.  249 

and  positive  directions  from  the  governor  on  this  head. 
"The  following,"  says  he,  "is  an  exact  copy  of  his  an- 
swer : — ' Port  Cumberland  is  a  kings  fort,  and  built 
chiefly  at  the  charge  of  the  colony,  therefore  properly 
under  our  direction  until  a  new  governor  is  appointed/ 
Now,  whether  I  am  to  understand  this  aye  or  no  to  the 
plain  simple  question  asked,  Is  the  fort  to  be  continued 
or  removed  ?  I  know  not.  But  in  all  important  mat- 
ters I  am  directed  in  this  ambiguous  and  uncertain 
way." 

Governor  Dinwiddie  subsequently  made  himself 
explicit  on  this  point.  Taking  offence  at  some  of 
Washington's  comments  on  the  military  affairs  of  the 
frontier,  he  made  the  stand  of  a  self-willed  and  obsti- 
nate man,  in  the  case  of  Port  Cumberland ;  and  repre- 
sented it  in  such  light  to  Lord  Loudoun,  as  to  draw 
from  his  lordship  an  order  that  it  should  be  kept  up  : 
and  an  implied  censure  of  the  conduct  of  Washington 
in  slighting  a  post  of  such  paramount  importance.  "  I 
cannot  agree  with  Colonel  Washington,"  writes  his 
lordship,  "in  not  drawing  in  the  posts  from  the  stock- 
ade forts,  in  order  to  defend  that  advanced  one  ;  and  I 
should  imagine  much  more  of  the  frontier  will  be  ex- 
posed by  retiring  your  advanced  posts  near  Winches- 
ter, where  I  understand  he  is  retired ;  for,  from  your 
letter,  I  take  it  for  granted  he  has  before  this  executed 
his  plan,  without  waiting  for  any  advice.  If  he  leaves 
any  of  the  great  quantity  of  stores  behind,  it  will  be 
very  unfortunate,  and  he  ought  to  consider  that  it  must 
lie  at  his  own  door." 

Thus  powerfully  supported,  Dinwiddie  went  so  far 
as  to  order  that  the  garrisons  should  be  withdrawn  from 


250  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

the  stockades  and  small  frontier  forts,  and  most  of  the 
troops  from  Winchester,  to  strengthen  Port  Cumber- 
land, which  was  now  to  become  head-quarters ;  thus 
weakening  the  most  important  points  and  places,  to 
concentrate  a  force  where  it  was  not  wanted,  and  would 
be  out  of  the  way  in  most  cases  of  alarm.  By  these 
meddlesome  moves,  made  by  Governor  Dinwiddie  from 
a  distance,  without  knowing  any  thing  of  the  game,  all 
previous  arrangements  were  reversed,  every  thing  was 
thrown  into  confusion,  and  enormous  losses  and  ex- 
penses  were  incurred. 

"  Whence  it  arises,  or  why,  I  am  truly  ignorant," 
writes  Washington  to  Mr.  Speaker  Robinson,  "  but  my 
strongest  representations  of  matters  relative  to  the  fron- 
tiers are  disregarded  as  idle  and  frivolous ;  my  propo- 
sitions and  measures  as  partial  and  selfish ;  and  all  my 
sincerest  endeavors  for  the  service  of  my  country  are 
perverted  to  the  worst  purposes.  My  orders  are  dark 
and  uncertain ;  to-day  approved,  to-morrow  disap- 
proved." 

Whence  all  this  contradiction  and  embarrassment 
arose  has  since  been  explained,  and  with  apparent  rea- 
son. Governor  Dinwiddie  had  never  recovered  from 
the  pique  caused  by  the  popular  elevation  of  Washing- 
ton to  the  command  in  preference  to  his  favorite, 
Colonel  Innes.  His  irritation  was  kept  alive  by  a  little 
Scottish  faction,  who  were  desirous  of  disgusting  Wash- 
ington with  the  service,  so  as  to  induce  him  to  resign, 
and  make  way  for  his  rival.  They  might  have  carried 
their  point  during  the  panic  at  Winchester,  had  not  his 
patriotism  and  his  sympathy  with  the  public  distress 
been  more  powerful  than  his  self-love.    He  determined, 


1756.]         MILITARY   AFFAIRS    IN    THE    NORTH.  251 

he  said,  to  bear  up  under  these  embarrassments,  in  the 
hope  of  better  regulations  when  Lord  Loudoun  should 
arrive ;  to  whom  he  looked  for  the  future  fate  of  Vir- 
ginia. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  on  the  Virginia 
frontier,  military  affairs  went  on  tardily  and  heavily  at 
the  north.  The  campaign  against  Canada,  which  was 
to  have  opened  early  in  the  year,  hung  fire.  The  arma- 
ment coming  out  for  the  purpose,  under  Lord  Lou- 
doun, was  delayed  through  the  want  of  energy  and 
union  in  the  British  cabinet.  General  Abercrombie, 
who  was  to  be  next  in  command  to  his  lordship,  and  to 
succeed  to  General  Shirley,  set  sail  in  advance  for  New 
York  with  two  regiments,  but  did  not  reach  Albany, 
the  head-quarters  of  military  operation,  until  the  25th 
of  June.  He  billeted  his  soldiers  upon  the  town, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  the  inhabitants,  and  talked  of 
ditching  and  stockading  it,  but  postponed  all  exterior 
enterprises  until  the  arrival  of  Lord  Loudoun ;  then  the 
campaign  was  to  open  in  earnest. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  came  word  that  the  forts  On- 
tario and  Oswego,  on  each  side  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Oswego  River,  were  menaced  by  the  French.  They 
had  been  imperfectly  constructed  by  Shirley,  and  were 
insufficiently  garrisoned,  yet  contained  a  great  amount 
of  military  and  naval  stores,  and  protected  the  vessels 
which  cruised  on  Lake  Ontario. 

Major-general  Webb  was  ordered  by  Abercrombie 
to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  march  with  one  regi- 
ment to  the  relief  of  these  forts,  but  received  no  fur- 
ther orders.  Every  thing  awaited  the  arrival  at  Albany 
of  Lord  Loudoun,  which  at  length  took  place,  on  the 


252  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1756. 

29th  of  July.  There  were  now  at  least  ten  thousand 
troops,  regulars  and  provincials,  loitering  in  an  idle 
camp  at  Albany,  yet  relief  to  Oswego  was  still  delayed. 
Lord  Loudoun  was  in  favor  of  it,  but  the  governments 
of  New  York  and  New  England  urged  the  immediate 
reduction  of  Crown  Point,  as  necessary  for  the  security 
of  their  frontier.  After  much  debate,  it  was  agreed 
that  General  Webb  should  march  to  the  relief  of  Os- 
wego. Pie  left  Albany  on  the  12th  of  August,  but  had 
scarce  reached  the  carrying-place,  between  the  Mohawk 
River  and  Wood  Creek,  when  he  received  news  that 
Oswego  was  reduced,  and  its  garrison  captured.  While 
the  British  commanders  had  debated,  Field-marshal  the 
Marquis  De  Montcalm,  newly  arrived  from  Prance,  had 
acted.  He  was  a  different  kind  of  soldier  from  Aber- 
crombie  or  Loudoun.  A  capacious  mind  and  enter- 
prising spirit  animated  a  small,  but  active  and  untiring 
frame.  Quick  in  thought,  quick  in  speech,  quicker 
still  in  action,  he  comprehended  every  thing  at  a  glance, 
and  moved  from  point  to  point  of  the  province  with  a 
celerity  and  secrecy  that  completely  baffled  his  slow 
and  pondering  antagonists.  Crown  Point  and  Ticon- 
deroga  were  visited,  and  steps  taken  to  strengthen  their 
works,  and  provide  for  their  security ;  then  hastening 
to  Montreal,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  force  of 
regulars,  Canadians,  and  Indians;  ascended  the  St 
Lawrence  to  Lake  Ontario ;  blocked  up  the  mouth  of 
the  Oswego  by  his  vessels,  landed  his  guns,  and  be- 
sieged the  two  forts ;  drove  the  garrison  out  of  one  into 
the  other ;  killed  the  commander,  Colonel  Mercer,  and 
compelled  the  garrisons  to  surrender  prisoners  of  war. 
With  the  forts  was  taken  an  immense  amount  of  mili» 


1756.J  LOUDOUN    IN    WINTER   QUARTERS.  253 

tary  stores,  ammunition,  and  provisions ;  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one  cannon,  fourteen  mortars,  six  vessels  of 
war,  a  vast  number  of  batteaux,  and  three  chests  of 
money.  His  blow  achieved,  Montcalm  returned  in  tri- 
umph to  Montreal,  and  sent  the  colors  of  the  captured 
forts  to  be  hung  up  as  trophies  in  the  Canadian 
churches. 

The  season  was  now  too  far  advanced  for  Lord 
Loudoun  to  enter  upon  any  great  military  enterprise ; 
he  postponed,  therefore,  the  great  Northern  campaign, 
so  much  talked  of  and  debated,  until  the  following 
year ;  and  having  taken  measures  for  the  protection  of 
his  frontiers,  and  for  more  active  operations  in  the 
spring,  returned  to  New  York,  hung  up  his  sword,  and 
went  into  comfortable  winter  quarters. 


CHAPTEE   XXII. 

WASHINGTON  VINDICATES  HIS  CONDUCT  TO  LOED  LOUDOUN — HIS  EEOEPTION 
BY  HIS  LOEDSHIP — MILITAET  PLANS — LOED  LOUDOUN  AT  HALIFAX 
— MONTCALM  ON  LAZE  GEOEGE — HIS  TEIUMPHS — LOED  LOUDOUN'S 
FAILUBES — WASHINGTON  AT  WINCHESTEE — CONTINUED  MISUNDEE- 
STANDLNGS  WITH  DINWIDDLE— EETUEN  TO  MOUNT  YEENON. 

Circumstances  had  led  Washington  to  think  that 
Lord  Loudoun  "  had  received  impressions  to  his  pre- 
judice by  false  representations  of  facts,"  and  that  a 
wrong  idea  prevailed  at  head-quarters  respecting  the 
state  of  military  affairs  in  Virginia.  He  was  anxious, 
therefore,  for  an  opportunity  of  placing  all  these  mat- 
ters in  a  proper  light ;  and,  understanding  that  there 
was  to  be  a  meeting  in  Philadelphia  in  the  month  of 
March,  between  Lord  Loudoun  and  the  southern  gov- 
ernors, to  consult  about  measures  of  defence  for  their 
respective  provinces,  he  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie 
for  permission  to  attend  it. 

"I  cannot  conceive,"  writes  Dinwiddie  in  reply, 
"  what  service  you  can  be  of  in  going  there,  as  the  plan 
concerted  will,  in  course,  be  communicated  to  you  and 
the  other  officers.  However,  as  you  seem  so  earnest  to 
go,  I  now  give  you  leave." 


1757. J       LETTER  TO  LORD  LOUDOUN.         255 

This  ungracious  reply  seemed  to  warrant  the  sus- 
picions entertained  by  some  of  Washington's  friends, 
that  it  was  the  busy  pen  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  which 
had  given  the  "  false  representation  of  facts,"  to  Lord 
Loudoun.  About  a  month,  therefore,  before  the  time 
of  the  meeting,  Washington  addressed  a  long  letter  to  his 
lordship,  explanatory  of  military  affairs  in  the  quarter 
where  he  had  commanded.  In  this  he  set  forth  the 
various  defects  in  the  militia  laws  of  Virginia;  the 
errors  in  its  system  of  defence,  and  the  inevitable  con- 
fusion which  had  thence  resulted. 

Adverting  to  his  own  conduct :  "  The  orders  I  re- 
ceive," said  he,  "  are  full  of  ambiguity.  I  am  left  like 
a  wanderer  in  the  wilderness  to  proceed  at  hazard.  I 
am  answerable  for  consequences,  and  blamed,  without 
the  privilege  of  defence.  *****  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at,  if,  under  such  peculiar  circum- 
stances, I  should  be  sick  of  a  service  which  promises  so 
little  of  a  soldier's  reward. 

"  I  have  long  been  satisfied  of  the  impossibility  of 
continuing  in  this  service,  without  loss  of  honor.  In- 
deed, I  was  fully  convinced  of  it  before  I  accepted  the 
command  the  second  time,  seeing  the  cloudy  prospect 
before  me ;  and  I  did,  for  this  reason,  reject  the  offer, 
until  I  was  ashamed  any  longer  to  refuse,  not  caring  to 
expose  my  character  to  public  censure.  The  solicita- 
tions of  the  country  overcame  my  objections,  and 
induced  me  to  accept  it.  Another  reason  has  of  late 
operated  to  continue  me  in  the  service  until  now,  and 
that  is,  the  dawn  of  hope  that  arose,  when  I  heard 
your  lordship  was  destined,  by  his  majesty,  for  the  im- 
portant command  of  his  armies  in  America,  and  ap- 


256  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1757. 

pointed  to  the  government  of  his  dominion  of  Virginia. 
Hence  it  was,  that  I  drew  my  hopes,  and  fondly  pro- 
nounced your  lordship  our  patron.  Although  I  have  not 
the  honor  to  be  known  to  your  lordship,  yet  your  name 
was  familiar  to  my  ear,  on  account  of  the  important  servi- 
ces rendered  to  his  majesty  in  other  parts  of  the  world." 

The  manner  in  which  Washington  was  received  by 
Lord  Loudoun  on  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  showed  him 
at  once,  that  his  long,  explanatory  letter,  had  produced 
the  desired  effect,  and  that  his  character  and  conduct 
were  justly  appreciated.  During  his  sojourn  in  Phila- 
delphia he  was  frequently  consulted  on  points  of  fron- 
tier service,  and  his  advice  was  generally  adopted. 
On  one  point  it  failed.  He  advised  that  an  attack 
should  be  made  on  Port  Duquesne,  simultaneous  with 
the  attempts  on  Canada.  At  such  time  a  great  part 
of  the  garrison  would  be  drawn  away  to  aid  in  the  de- 
fence of  that  province,  and  a  blow  might  be  struck 
more  likely  to  insure  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  south- 
ern frontier,  than  all  its  forts  and  defences. 

Lord  Loudoun,  however,  was  not  to  be  convinced, 
or  at  least  persuaded.  According  to  his  plan,  the  mid- 
dle and  southern  provinces  were  to  maintain  a  merely 
defensive  warfare ;  and  as  Virginia  would  be  required 
to  send  four  hundred  of  her  troops  to  the  aid  of  South 
Carolina,  she  would,  in  fact,  be  left  weaker  than  before. 

Washington  was  also  disappointed  a  second  time, 
in  the  hope  of  having  his  regiment  placed  on  the  same 
footing  as  the  regular  army,  and  of  obtaining  a  king's 
commission ; — the  latter  he  was  destined  never  to  hold. 

His  representations  with  respect  to  Port  Cumber- 
land had  the  desired  effect,  in  counteracting  the  mis- 


1757.J       LORD    LOUDOUN    SAILS    FOR   HALIFAX.  257 

chievous  intermeddling  of  Dinwiddie.  The  Virginia 
troops  and  stores  were  ordered  to  be  again  removed  to 
Fort  Loudoun,  at  Winchester,  which  once  more  became 
head-quarters,  while  Fort  Cumberland  was  left  to  be 
occupied  by  a  Maryland  garrison.  Washington  was 
instructed,  likewise,  to  correspond  and  co-operate,  in 
military  affairs,  with  Colonel  Stanwix,  who  was  sta- 
tioned on  the  Pennsylvania  frontier,  with  five  hundred 
men  from  the  Royal  American  regiment,  and  to  whom 
he  would  be,  in  some  measure,  subordinate.  This 
proved  a  correspondence  of  friendship,  as  well  as  duty ; 
Colonel  Stanwix  being  a  gentleman  of  high  moral 
worth,  as  well  as  great  ability  in  military  affairs. 

The  great  plan  of  operations  at  the  north  was  again 
doomed  to  failure.  The  reduction  of  Crown  Point,  on 
Lake  Champlain,  which  had  long  been  meditated,  was 
laid  aside,  and  the  capture  of  Louisburg  substituted,  as 
an  acquisition  of  far  greater  importance.  This  was  a 
place  of  great  consequence,  situated  on  the  isle  of  Cape 
Breton,  and  strongly  fortified.  It  commanded  the  fish- 
eries of  Newfoundland,  overawed  New  England,  and 
was  a  main  bulwark  to  Acadia. 

In  the  course  of  July,  Lord  Loudoun  set  sail  for 
Halifax  with  all  the  troops  he  could  collect,  amounting 
to  about  six  thousand  men,  to  join  with  Admiral  Hol- 
bourne,  who  had  just  arrived  at  that  port  with  eleven 
ships  of  the  line,  a  fire-ship,  bomb-ketch,  and  fleet  of 
transports,  having  on  board  six  thousand  men.  With 
this  united  force  Lord  Loudoun  anticipated  the  certain 
capture  of  Louisburg. 

Scarce  had  the  tidings  of  his  lordship's  departure 
reached  Canada,  when  the  active  Montcalm  again  took 

VOL.  I. — 17  » 


258  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1757. 

the  field,  to  follow  up  the  successes  of  the  preceding 
year.  Port  William  Henry,  which  Sir  Wm.  Johnson 
had  erected  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  George,  was 
now  his  object ;  it  commanded  the  lake,  and  was  an 
important  protection  to  the  British  frontier.  A  brave 
old  officer,  Colonel  Monro,  with  about  five  hundred 
men,  formed  the  garrison ;  more  than  three  times  that 
number  of  militia  were  intrenched  near  by.  Montcalm 
had,  early  in  the  season,  made  three  ineffectual  attempts 
upon  the  fort ;  he  now  trusted  to  be  more  successful. 
Collecting  his  forces  from  Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga, 
and  the  adjacent  posts,  with  a  considerable  number  of 
Canadians  and  Indians,  altogether  nearly  eight  thou- 
sand men,  he  advanced  up  the  lake,  on  the  1st  of 
August,  in  a  fleet  of  boats,  with  swarms  of  Indian 
canoes  in  the  advance.  The  fort  came  near  being  sur- 
prised ;  but  the  troops  encamped  without  it,  abandoned 
their  tents  and  hurried  within  the  works.  A  summons 
to  surrender  was  answered  by  a  brave  defiance.  Mont- 
calm invested  the  fort,  made  his  approaches,  and  bat- 
tered it  with  his  artillery.  Por  five  days  its  veteran 
commander  kept  up  a  vigorous  defence,  trusting  to  re- 
ceive assistance  from  General  Webb,  who  had  failed  to 
relieve  Port  Oswego  in  the  preceding  year,  and  who 
was  now  at  Port  Pdward,  about  fifteen  miles  distant, 
with  upwards  of  five  thousand  men.  Instead  of  this, 
Webb,  who  overrated  the  Prench  forces,  sent  him  a 
letter,  advising  him  to  capitulate.  The  letter  was 
intercepted  by  Montcalm,  but  still  forwarded  tc 
Monro.  The  obstinate  old  soldier,  however,  persisted 
in  his  defence,  until  most  of  his  cannon  were  burst, 
and  his   ammunition  expended.      At  length,  in  the 


1757.]  FAILURES    OF    LORD  LOUDOUN.  259 

month  of  August,  lie  hung  out  a  flag  of  truce,  and 
obtained  honorable  terms  from  an  enemy  who  knew 
how  to  appreciate  his  valor.  Montcalm  demolished 
the  fort,  carried  off  all  the  artillery  and  munitions  of 
war,  with  vessels  employed  in  the  navigation  of  the 
lake ;  and  having  thus  completed  his  destruction  of  the 
British  defences  on  this  frontier,  returned  once  more  in 
triumph  with  the  spoils  of  victory,  to  hang  up  fresh 
trophies  in  the  churches  of  Canada. 

Lord  Loudoun,  in  the  mean  time,  formed  his  junc- 
tion with  Admiral  Holbourne  at  Halifax,  and  the  troops 
were  embarked  with  all  diligence  on  board  of  the  trans- 
ports. "Unfortunately,  the  French  were  again  too 
quick  for  them.  Admiral  De  Bois  de  la  Mothe  had 
arrived  at  Louisburg,  with  a  large  naval  and  land 
force ;  it  was  ascertained  that  he  had  seventeen  ships 
of  the  line,  and  three  frigates,  quietly  moored  in  the 
harbor ;  that  the  place  was  well  fortified  and  supplied 
with  provisions  and  ammunition,  and  garrisoned  with 
six  thousand  regular  troops,  three  thousand  natives, 
and  thirteen  hundred  Indians. 

Some  hot-heads  would  have  urged  an  attempt 
against  all  such  array  of  force,  but  Lord  Loudoun  was 
aware  of  the  probability  of  defeat,  and  the  disgrace  and 
ruin  that  it  would  bring  upon  British  arms  in  America. 
He  wisely,  though  ingloriously,  returned  to  New  York. 
Admiral  Holbourne  made  a  silly  demonstration  of  his 
fleet  off  the  harbor  of  Louisburg,  approaching  within 
two  miles  of  the  batteries,  but  retired  on  seeing  the 
French  admiral  preparing  to  unmoor.  He  afterwards 
returned  with  a  reinforcement  of  four  ships  of  the  line  ; 
cruised  before  Louisburg,  endeavoring   to   draw  the 


260  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1757 

enemy  to  an  engagement,  which  De  la  Mothe  had  the 
wisdom  to  decline;  was  overtaken  by  a  hurricane,  in 
which  one  of  his  ships  was  lost,  eleven  were  dismasted, 
others  had  to  throw  their  guns  overboard,  and  all  re- 
turned in  a  shattered  condition  to  England.  Thus 
ended  the  northern  campaign  by  land  and  sea ;  a  sub- 
ject of  great  mortification  to  the  nation,  and  ridicule 
and  triumph  to  the  enemy. 

During  these  unfortunate  operations  to  the  north, 
Washington  was  stationed  at  Winchester,  shorn  of  part 
of  his  force  by  the  detachment  to  South  Carolina,  and 
left  with  seven  hundred  men  to  defend  a  frontier  of 
more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  extent. 
The  capture  and  demolition  of  Oswego  by  Montcalm 
had  produced  a  disastrous  effect.  The  whole  country 
of  the  five  nations  was  abandoned  to  the  Trench.  The 
frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  were 
harassed  by  repeated  inroads  of  French  and  Indians, 
and  Washington  had  the  mortification  to  see  the  noble 
valley  of  the  Shenandoah  almost  deserted  by  its  inhab- 
itants, and  fast  relapsing  into  a  wilderness. 

The  year  wore  away  on  his  part  in  the  harassing 
service  of  defending  a  wide  frontier  with  an  insufficient 
and  badly  organized  force,  and  the  vexations  he  experi- 
enced were  heightened  by  continual  misunderstandings 
with  Governor  Dinwiddie.  Prom  the  ungracious  tenor 
of  several  of  that  gentleman's  letters,  and  from  private 
information,  he  was  led  to  believe  that  some  secret  ene- 
my had  been  making  false  representations  of  his  mo- 
tives and  conduct,  and  prejudicing  the  governor  against 
him.  He  vindicated  himself  warmly  from  the  alleged 
aspersions,  proudly  appealing  to  the  whole  course  of  his 


1757.J  OFFICIAL    CENSORIOUSNESS.  261 

public  career  in  proof  of  their  falsity.  "  It  is  uncer- 
tain," said  he,  "  in  what  light  my  services  may  have 
appeared  to  your  honor ;  but  this  I  know,  and  it  is  the 
highest  consolation  I  am  capable  of  feeling,  that  no 
man  that  ever  was  employed  in  a  public  capacity  has 
endeavored  to  discharge  the  trust  reposed  in  him  with 
greater  honesty  and  more  zeal  for  the  country's  interest 
than  I  have  done :  and  if  there  is  any  person  living 
who  can  say,  with  justice,  that  I  have  offered  any  in- 
tentional wrong  to  the  public,  I  will  cheerfully  submit 
to  the  most  ignominious  punishment  that  an  injured 
people  ought  to  inflict.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  hard 
to  have  my  character  arraigned,  and  my  actions  con- 
demned, without  a  hearing/' 

His  magnanimous  appeal  had  but  little  effect. 
Dinwiddie  was  evidently  actuated  by  the  petty  pique 
of  a  narrow  and  illiberal  mind,  impatient  of  contradic- 
tion, even  when  in  error.  He  took  advantage  of  his 
official  station  to  vent  his  spleen  and  gratify  his  petu- 
lance in  a  variety  of  ways  incompatible  with  the  cour- 
tesy of  a  gentleman.  It  may  excite  a  grave  smile  at  the 
present  day,  to  find  Washington  charged  by  this  very 
small-minded  man  with  looseness  in  his  way  of  writing 
to  him ;  with  remissness  in  his  duty  towards  him ;  and 
even  with  impertinence  in  the  able  and  eloquent  repre- 
sentations which  he  felt  compelled  to  make  of  disas- 
trous mismanagement  in  military  affairs;  and  still 
more,  to  find  his  reasonable  request,  after  a  long  course 
of  severe  duty,  for  a  temporary  leave  of  absence,  to 
attend  to  his  private  concerns,  peremptorily  refused,  and 
that  with  as  little  courtesy  as  though  he  were  a  mere 


262  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [17581 

subaltern,  seeking  to  absent  himself  on  a  party  of 
pleasure. 

The  multiplied  vexations  which  Washington  had 
latterly  experienced  from  this  man,  had  preyed  upon 
his  spirits,  and  contributed,  with  his  incessant  toils  and 
anxieties,  to  undermine  his  health.  For  some  time  he 
struggled  with  repeated  attacks  of  dysentery  and  fever, 
and  continued  in  the  exercise  of  his  duties ;  but  the 
increased  violence  of  his  malady,  and  the  urgent  advice 
of  his  friend  Dr.  Craik,  the  army  surgeon,  induced  him 
to  relinquish  his  post  towards  the  end  of  the  year,  and 
retire  to  Mount  Vernon. 

The  administration  of  Dinwiddie,  however,  was 
now  at  an  end.  He  set  sail  for  England  in  January, 
1758,  very  little  regretted,  excepting  by  his  immediate 
hangers-on ;  and  leaving  a  character  overshadowed  by 
the  imputation  of  avarice  and  extortion  in  the  exaction 
of  illegal  fees,  and  of  downright  delinquency  in  regard 
to  large  sums  transmitted  to  him  by  government,  to  be 
paid  over  to  the  province  in  indemnification  of  its  extra 
expenses ;  for  the  disposition  of  which  sums  he  failed 
to  render  an  account. 

He  was  evidently  a  sordid,  narrow-minded,  and 
somewhat  arrogant  man  ;  bustling  rather  than  active ; 
prone  to  meddle  with  matters  of  which  he  was  pro- 
foundly ignorant,  and  absurdly  unwilling  to  have  his 
ignorance  enlightened. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

WASHINGTON  EEOOVEE8  HIS  HEALTH — AGAIN  IN  COMMAND  AT  FOET 
LOUDOUN — ADMINISTRATION  OF  PITT — LOUDOUN  SUCCEEDED  BY  GEN- 
ERAL ABEECEOMBIE — MILITAET  AEEANGEMENTS — WASHINGTON  COM- 
MANDER-IN-CHIEF OF  THE  VIEGINIA  FOECES — AMHEEST  AGAINST 
LOUISBUEG GENEEAL  WOLFE — MONTGOMEBY OAPTUEE  OF  LOUIS- 
BUB  G ABEECEOMBIE   ON   LAKE    GEOEGE — DEATH   OF   LORD    HOWE — 

EEPULSE   OF   ABEECEOMBIE — SUCCESS  OF  BEADSTEEET   AT   OSWEGO. 

For  several  months,  Washington  was  afflicted  by  re- 
turns of  his  malady,  accompanied  by  symptoms  indica- 
tive, as  he  thought,  of  a  decline.  "  My  constitution," 
writes  he  to  his  friend  Colonel  Stanwix,  "is  much 
impaired,  and  nothing  can  retrieve  it  but  the  greatest 
care  and  the  most  circumspect  course  of  life.  This 
being  the  case,  as  I  have  now  no  prospect  left  of  prefer- 
ment in  the  military  way,  and  despair  of  rendering  that 
immediate  service  which  my  country  may  require  from 
the  person  commanding  its  troops,  I  have  thoughts  of 
quitting  my  command  and  retiring  from  all  public  busi- 
ness, leaving  my  post  to  be  filled  by  some  other  person 
more  capable  of  the  task,  and  who  may,  perhaps,  have 


264  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

his  endeavors  crowned  with  better  success  than  mine 
have  been/' 

A  gradual  improvement  in  his  health,  and  a  change 
in  his  prospects,  encouraged  him  to  continue  in  what 
really  was  his  favorite  career,  and  at  the  beginning  of 
April  he  was  again  in  command  at  Port  Loudoun.  Mr. 
Francis  Fauquier  had  been  appointed  successor  to  Din- 
widdie,  and,  until  he  should  arrive,  Mr.  John  Blair, 
president  of  the  council,  had,  from  his  office,  charge 
of  the  government.  In  the  latter,  Washington  had  a 
friend  who  appreciated  his  character  and  services,  and 
was  disposed  to  carry  out  his  plans. 

The  general  aspect  of  affairs,  also,  was  more  ani- 
mating. Under  the  able  and  intrepid  administration 
of  William  Pitt,  who  had  control  of  the  British  cabi- 
net, an  effort  was  made  to  retrieve  the  disgraces  of  the 
late  American  campaign,  and  to  carry  on  the  war  with 
greater  vigor.  The  instructions  for  a  common  fund 
were  discontinued ;  there  was  no  more  talk  of  taxation 
by  Parliament.  Lord  Loudoun,  from  whom  so  much 
had  been  anticipated,  had  disappointed  by  his  inactiv- 
ity, and  been  relieved  from  a  command  in  which  he  had 
attempted  much  and  done  so  little.  His  friends  alleged 
that  his  inactivity  was  owing  to  a  want  of  unanimity 
and  co-operation  in  the  colonial  governments,  which 
paralyzed  all  his  well-meant  efforts.  Franklin,  it  is 
probable,  probed  the  matter  with  his  usual  sagacity 
when  he  characterized  him  as  a  man  "  entirely  made 
up  of  indecision." — "Like  St.  George  on  the  signs, 
he  was  always  on  horseback,  but  never  rode  on." 

On  the  return  of  his  lordship  to  England,  the  gen- 
eral command  in  America  devolved  on  Major-general 


1758.]  DIVISION    OF   THE   FORCES.  265 

Abercrombie,  and  the  forces  were  divided  into  three 
detached  bodies ;  one,  under  Major-general  Amherst, 
was  to  operate  in  the  north  with  the  fleet  under  Bos- 
cawen,  for  the  reduction  of  Louisburg  and  the  island  of 
Cape  Breton ;  another,  under  Abercrombie  himself,  was 
to  proceed  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  on 
Lake  Champlain ;  and  the  third,  under  Brigadier-gen- 
eral Forbes,  who  had  the  charge  of  the  middle  and 
southern  colonies,  was  to  undertake  the  reduction  of 
Fort  Duquesne.  The  colonial  troops  were  to  be  sup- 
plied, like  the  regulars,  with  arms,  ammunition,  tents, 
and  provisions,  at  the  expense  of  government,  but 
clothed  and  paid  by  the  colonies ;  for  which  the  king 
would  recommend  to  Parliament  a  proper  compensa- 
tion. The  provincial  officers  appointed  by  the  govern- 
ors, and  of  no  higher  rank  than  colonel,  were  to  be 
equal  in  command,  when  united  in  service  with  those 
who  held  direct  from  the  king,  according  to  the  date 
of  their  commissions.  By  these  wise  provisions  of  Mr. 
Pitt,  a  fertile  cause  of  heartburnings  and  dissensions 
was  removed. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  Washington 
saw  his  favorite  measure  at  last  adopted,  the  reduction 
of  Fort  Duquesne ;  and  he  resolved  to  continue  in  the 
service  until  that  object  was  accomplished.  In  a  letter 
to  Stanwix,  who  was  now  a  brigadier-general,  he  mod- 
estly requested  to  be  mentioned  in  favorable  terms  to 
General  Forbes  j  "  not,"  said  he,  "  as  a  person  who 
would  depend  upon  him  for  further  recommendation  to 
military  preferment  (for  I  have  long  conquered  all  such 
inclinations,  and  shall  serve  this  campaign  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  affording  my  best  endeavors  to  bring 


266  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758 

matters  to  a  conclusion),  but  as  a  person  who  would 
gladly  be  distinguished  in  some  measure  from  the  com- 
mon run  of  provincial  officers,  as  I  understand  there 
will  be  a  motley  herd  of  us."  He  had  the  satisfaction 
subsequently  of  enjoying  the  fullest  confidence  of  Gen- 
eral Forbes,  who  knew  too  well  the  sound  judgment 
and  practical  ability  evinced  by  him  in  the  unfortunate 
campaign  of  Braddock,  not  to  be  desirous  of  availing 
himself  of  his  counsels. 

Washington  still  was  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Virginia  troops,  now  augmented,  by  an  act  of  the  As- 
sembly, to  two  regiments  of  one  thousand  men  each ; 
one  led  by  himself,  the  other  by  ^Colonel  Byrd  j  the 
whole  destined  to  make  a  part  of  the  army  of  General 
Forbes  in  the  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne. 

Of  the  animation  which  he  felt  at  the  prospect  of 
serving  in  this  long-desired  campaign,  and  revisiting 
with  an  effective  force  the  scene  of  past  disasters,  we 
have  a  proof  in  a  short  letter,  written  during  the  ex- 
citement of  the  moment,  to  Major  Francis  Halket,  his 
former  companion  in  arms. 

"  My  dear  Halket : — Are  we  to  have  you  once  more 
among  us  ?  And  shall  we  revisit  together  a  hapless  spot, 
that  proved  so  fatal  to  many  of  our  former  brave  com- 
panions ?  Yes  ;  and  I  rejoice  at  it,  hoping  it  will  now 
be  in  our  power  to  testify  a  just  abhorrence  of  the  cruel 
butcheries  exercised  on  our  friends  in  the  unfortunate 
day  of  General  Braddock's  defeat ;  and,  moreover,  to 
show  our  enemies,  that  we  can  practise  all  that  lenity 
of  which  they  only  boast,  without  affording  any  ade- 
quate proof." 

Before  we  proceed  to  narrate  the  expedition  against 


1758.]  AMHERST   AGAINST   LOTJISBURG.  267 

Fort  Duquesne,  however,  we  will  briefly  notice  the  con- 
duct of  the  two  other  expeditions,  which  formed  im- 
portant parts  in  the  plan  of  military  operations  for  the 
year.  And  first,  of  that  against  Louisburg  and  the 
Island  of  Cape  Breton. 

Major-general  Amherst,  who  conducted  this  expe- 
dition, embarked  with  between  ten  and  twelve  thousand 
men,  in  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Boscawen,  and  set  sail 
about  the  end  of  May,  from  Halifax,  in  Nova  Scotia. 
Along  with  him  went  Brigadier-general  James  Wolfe, 
an  officer  young  in  years,  but  a  veteran  in  military  ex- 
perience, and  destined  to  gain  an  almost  romantic 
celebrity.  He  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  born 
in  the  camp;  for  he  was  the  son  of  Major-general 
Wolfe,  a  veteran  officer  of  merit,  and  when  a  lad  had 
witnessed  the  battles  of  Dettingen  and  Fontenoy. 
While  a  mere  youth,  he  had  distinguished  himself  at 
the  battle  of  Laffeldt,  in  the  Netherlands ;  and  now, 
after  having  been  eighteen  years  in  the  service,  he  was 
but  thirty-one  years  of  age.  In  America,  however,  he 
was  to  win  his  lasting  laurels. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  the  fleet  arrived  at  the  Bay  of 
Gabarus,  aboutr  seven  miles  to  the  west  of  Louisburg. 
The  latter  place  was  garrisoned  by  two  thousand  five 
hundred  regulars,  and  three  hundred  militia,  and  sub- 
sequently reinforced  by  upwards  of  four  hundred  Cana- 
dians and  Indians.  In  the  harbor  were  six  ships  of 
the  line,  and  five  frigates ;  three  of  which  were  sunk 
across  the  mouth.  For  several  days  the  troops  were 
prevented  from  landing  by  boisterous  weather,  and  a 
heavy    surf.      The    French    improved  that  time    to 


268  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

strengthen  a  chain  of  forts  along  the  shore,  deepening 
trenches,  and  constructing  batteries. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  preparations  for  landing  were 
made  before  daybreak.  The  troops  were  embarked  in 
boats  hi  three  divisions,  under  Brigadiers  Wolfe,  Whet- 
more,  and  Laurens.  The  landing  was  to  be  attempted 
west  of  the  harbor,  at  a  place  feebly  secured.  Several 
frigates  and  sloops  previously  scoured  the  beach  with 
their  shot,  after  which  Wolfe  pulled  for  shore  with  his 
divisions ;  the  other  two  divisions  distracting  the  atten- 
tion of  the  enemy,  by  making  a  show  of  landing  in 
other  parts.  The  surf  still  ran  high,  the  enemy  opened 
a  fire  of  cannon  and  musketry  from  their  batteries, 
many  boats  were  upset,  many  men  slain ;  but  Wolfe 
pushed  forward,  sprang  into  the  water  when  the  boats 
grounded,  dashed  through  the  surf  with  his  men,  storm- 
ed the  enemy's  breastworks  and  batteries,  and  drove 
them  from  the  shore.  Among  the  subalterns  who  stood 
by  Wolfe  on  this  occasion,  was  an  Irish  youth,  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  named  Richard  Montgomery,  whom, 
for  his  gallantry,  Wolfe  promoted  to  a  lieutenantcy,  and 
who  was  destined,  in  after  years,  to  gain  an  imperisha- 
ble renown.  The  other  divisions  effected  a  landing 
after  a  severe  conflict ;  artillery  and  stores  were  brought 
on  shore,  and  Louisburg  was  formally  invested. 

The  weather  continued  boisterous ;  the  heavy  can- 
non, and  the  various  munitions  necessary  for  a  siege, 
were  landed  with  difficulty.  Amherst,  moreover,  was 
a  cautious  man,  and  made  his  approaches  slowly,  secur- 
ing his  camp  by  redoubts  and  epaulements.  The 
Chevalier  Drucour,  who  commanded  at  Louisburg, 
called  in  his  outposts,  and  prepared  for  a  desperate  de- 


1758.]  CAPTURE    OF   LOUISBURG.  269 

fence ;  keeping  up  a  heavy  fire  from  his  batteries,  and 
from  the  ships  in  the  harbor. 

Wolfe,  with  a  strong  detachment,  surprised  at 
night,  and  took  possession  of  Light  House  Point,  on 
the  north-east  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbor.  Here 
he  threw  up  batteries  in  addition  to  those  already  there, 
from  which  he  was  enabled  greatly  to  annoy  both  town 
and  shipping,  as  well  as  to  aid  Amherst  in  his  slow,  but 
regular  and  sure  approaches. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  the  three  largest  of  the  ene- 
my's ships  were  set  on  fire  by  a  bombshell.  On  the 
night  of  the  25th,  two  other  of  the  ships  were  board- 
ed, sword  in  hand,  from  boats  of  the  squadron ;  one 
being  aground,  was  burnt,  the  other  was  towed  out  of 
the  harbor  in  triumph.  The  brave  Drucour  kept  up 
the  defence  until  all  the  ships  were  either  taken  or  de- 
stroyed ;  forty,  out  of  fifty-two  pieces  of  cannon  dis- 
mounted, and  his  works  mere  heaps  of  ruins.  When 
driven  to  capitulate,  he  refused  the  terms  proposed,  as 
being  too  severe,  and,  when  threatened  with  a  general 
assault,  by  sea  and  land,  determined  to  abide  it,  rather 
than  submit  to  what  he  considered  a  humiliation.  The 
prayers  and  petitions  of  the  inhabitants,  however,  over- 
came his  obstinacy.  The  place  was  surrendered,  and 
he  and  his  garrison  became  prisoners  of  war.  Captain 
Amherst,  brother  to  the  general,  carried  home  the  news 
to  England,  with  eleven  pair  of  colors,  taken  at  Louis- 
burg.  There  were  rejoicings  throughout  the  kingdom. 
The  colors  were  borne  in  triumph  through  the  streets 
of  London,  with  a  parade  of  horse  and  foot,  kettle 
drums  and  trumpets,  and  the  thunder  of  artillery,  and 
were  put  up  as  trophies  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 


270  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.        *  [1758L 

Boscawen,  who  was  a  member  of  Parliament,  re- 
ceived a  unanimous  vote  of  praise  from  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  the  youthful  Wolfe,  who  returned  shortly 
after  the  victory  to  England,  was  hailed  as  the  hero  of 
the  enterprise. 

We  have  disposed  of  one  of  the  three  great  expe- 
ditions contemplated  in  the  plan  of  the  year's  cam- 
paign. The  second  was  that  against  the  Trench  forts 
on  Lakes  George  and  Champlain.  At  the  beginning  of 
July,  Abercrombie  was  encamped  on  the  borders  of 
Lake  George,  with  between  six  and  seven  thousand 
regulars,  and  upwards  of  nine  thousand  provincials, 
from  New  England,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey. 
Major  Israel  Putnam,  of  Connecticut,  who  had  .served 
on  this  lake,  under  Sir  William  Johnson,  in  the  cam- 
paign in  which  Dieskau  was  defeated  and  slain,  had 
been  detached  with  a  scouting  party  to  reconnoitre  the 
neighborhood.  After  his  return  and  report,  Aber- 
crombie prepared  to  proceed  against  Ticonderoga,  situ- 
ated on  a  tongue  of  land  in  Lake  Champlain,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  strait  communicating  with  Lake  George. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  the  forces  were  embarked  in 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  whale-boats,  and  nine 
hundred  batteaux,  with  the  artillery  on  rafts.  The  vast 
flotilla  proceeded  slowly  down  the  lake,  with  banners 
and  pennons  fluttering  in  the  summer  breeze;  arms 
glittering  in  the  sunshine,  and  martial  music  echoing 
along  the  wood-clad  mountains.  With  Abercrombie 
went  Lord  Howe,  a  young  nobleman,  brave  and  enter- 
prising, full  of  martial  enthusiasm,  and  endeared  to  the 
soldiery  by  the  generosity  of  his  disposition,  and  the 
sweetness  of  his  manners. 


1758.]  DEATH    OF   LORD    HOWE.  271 

On  the  first  night  they  bivouacked  for  some  hours 
at  Sabbath-day  Point,  but  re-embarked  before  mid- 
night. The  next  day  they  landed  on  a  point  on  the 
western  shore,  just  at  the  entrance  of  the  strait  leading 
to  Lake  Champlain.  Here  they  were  formed  into  three 
columns,  and  pushed  forward. 

They  soon  came  upon  the  enemy's  advanced  guard, 
a  battalion  encamped  behind  a  log  breastwork.  The 
French  set  fire  to  their  camp,  and  retreated.  The 
columns  kept  their  form,  and  pressed  forward;  but, 
through  ignorance  of  their  guides,  became  bewildered 
in  a  dense  forest,  fell  into  confusion,  and  blundered 
upon  each  other. 

Lord  Howe  urged  on  with  the  van  of  the  right 
centre  column.  Putnam,  who  was  with  him,  and  more 
experienced  in  forest  warfare,  endeavored  in  vain  to 
inspire  him  with  caution.  After  a  time  they  came 
upon  a  detachment  of  the  retreating  foe,  who,  like 
themselves,  had  lost  their  way.  A  severe  conflict  en- 
sued. Lord  Howe,  who  gallantly  led  the  van,  was 
killed  at  the  onset.  His  fall  gave  new  ardor  to  his 
troops.  The  enemy  were  routed,  some  slain,  some 
drowned,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  taken  prisoners, 
including  five  officers.  Nothing  further  was  done  that 
day.  The  death  of  Lord  Howe  more  than  counterbal- 
anced the  defeat  of  the  enemy.  His  loss  was  bewailed 
not  merely  by  the  army,  but  by  the  American  people ; 
for  it  is  singular  how  much  this  young  nobleman,  in  a 
short  time,  had  made  himself  beloved.  The  point  near 
which  the  troops  had  landed  still  bears  his  name ;  the 
place  where  he  fell  is  still  pointed  out ;  and  Massachu- 
setts voted  him  a  monument  in  Westminster  Abbey. 


272  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

With  Lord  Howe  expired  the  master  spirit  of  the 
enterprise.  Abererombie  fell  back  to  the  landing- 
place.  The  next  day  he  sent  out  a  strong  detachment 
of  regulars,  royal  provincials,  and  batteaux  men,  under 
Lieutenant-colonel  Bradstreet,  of  New  York,  to  secure 
a  saw-mill,  which  the  enemy  had  abandoned.  This 
done,  he  followed  on  the  same  evening  "with  the  main 
forces,  and  took  post  at  the  mill,  within  two  miles  of 
the  fort.  Here  he  was  joined  by  Sir  William  Johnson, 
with  between  four  and  five  hundred  savage  warriors 
from  the  Mohawk  River. 

Montcalm  had  called  in  all  his  forces,  between  three 
and  four  thousand  men,  and  was  strongly  posted  be- 
hind deep  intrenchments  and  breastworks  eight  feet 
high ;  -with  an  abbatis,  or  felled  trees,  in  front  of  his 
lines,  presenting  a  horrid  barrier,  with  their  jagged 
boughs  pointing  outward.  Abererombie  was  deceived 
as  to  the  strength  of  the  French  works ;  his  engineers 
persuaded  him  they  were  formidable  only  in  appear- 
ance, but  really  weak  and  flimsy.  Without  waiting  for 
the  arrival  of  his  cannon,  and  against  the  opinion  of  his 
most  judicious  officers,  he  gave  orders  to  storm  the 
works.  Never  were  rash  orders  more  gallantly  obeyed. 
The  men  rushed  forward  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  at- 
tempted to  force  their  way  through,  or  scramble  over 
the  abbatis,  under  a  sheeted  fire  of  swivels  and  mus- 
ketry. In  the  desperation  of  the  moment,  the  officers 
even  tried  to  cut  their  way  through  with  their  swords. 
Some  even  reached  the  parapet,  where  they  were  shot 
down.  The  breastwork  was  too  high  to  be  surmount- 
ed, and  gave  a  secure  covert  to  the  enemy.  Repeated 
assaults  were  made,  and  as  often  repelled,  with  dread- 


1758.]  FAILURE    OF   ABERCROMBIE.  273 

ful  havoc.      The  Iroquois  warriors,  who  had  arrived 
with  Sir  William  Johnson,  took  no  part,  it  is  said,  in 
this  fierce  conflict,  but  stood  aloof  as  unconcerned  spec 
tators  of  the  bloody  strife  of  white  men. 

After  four  hours  of  desperate  and  fruitless  fight- 
ing, Abercrombie,  who  had  all  the  time  remained  aloof 
at  the  saw-mills,  gave  up  the  ill-judged  attempt,  and 
withdrew  once  more  to  the  landing-place,  with  the  loss 
of  nearly  two  thousand  in  killed  and  wounded.  Had 
not  the  vastly  inferior  force  of  Montcalm  prevented  him 
from  sallying  beyond  his  trenches,  the  retreat  of  the 
British  might  have  been  pushed  to  a  headlong  and  dis- 
astrous flight. 

Abercrombie  had  still  nearly  four  times  the  number 
of  the  enemy,  with  cannon,  and  all  the  means  of  carry- 
ing on  a  siege,  with  every  prospect  of  success ;  but  the 
failure  of  this  rash  assault  seems  completely  to  have 
dismayed  him.  The  next  day  he  re-embarked  all  his 
troops,  and  returned  across  that  lake  where  his  dis- 
graced banners  had  recently  waved  so  proudly. 

While  the  general  was  planning  fortifications  on 
Lake  George,  Colonel  Bradstreet  obtained  permission 
to  carry  into  effect  an  expedition  which  he  had  for 
some  time  meditated,  and  which  had  been  a  favorite 
project  with  the  lamented  Howe.  This  was  to  reduce 
Fort  Frontenac,  the  stronghold  of  the  French  on  the 
north  side  of  the  entrance  of  Lake  Ontario,  command- 
ing the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  This  post  was  a 
central  point  of  Indian  trade,  where  the  tribes  resorted 
from  all  parts  of  a  vast  interior,  sometimes  a  dis- 
tance of  a  thousand  miles,  to  traffic  away  their  peltries 
with  the  fur-traders.    It  was,  moreover,  a  magazine  for 

VOL.  I. 18 


274  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

the  more  southern  posts,  among  which  was  Port  Du- 
quesne  on  the  Ohio. 

Bradstreet  was  an  officer  of  spirit.  Pushing  his 
way  along  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  and  by  the  Oneida, 
where  he  was  joined  by  several  warriors  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions, he  arrived  at  Oswego  in  August,  with  nearly 
three  thousand  men ;  the  greater  part  of  them  provin- 
cial troops  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  Embark- 
ing at  Oswego  in  open  boats,  he  crossed  Lake  Ontario, 
and  landed  within  a  mile  of  Frontenac.  The  fort 
mounted  sixty  guns,  and  several  mortars,  yet  though  a 
place  of  such  importance,  the  garrison  consisted  of 
merely  one  hundred  and  ten  men,  and  a  few  Indians. 
These  either  fled,  or  surrendered  at  discretion.  In  the 
fort  was  an  immense  amount  of  merchandise  and  mili- 
tary stores ;  part  of  the  latter  intended  for  the  supply 
of  Port  Duquesne.  In  the  harbor  were  nine  armed 
vessels,  some  of  them  carrying  eighteen  guns;  the 
whole  of  the  enemy's  shipping  on  the  lake.  Two  of 
these  Colonel  Bradstreet  freighted  with  part  of  the 
spoils  of  the  fort,  the  others  he  destroyed ;  then  having 
dismantled  the  fortifications,  and  laid  waste  every  thing 
which  he  could  not  carry  away,  he  recrossed  the  lake 
to  Oswego,  and  returned  with  his  troops  to  the  army 
on  Lake  George. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

BLOW    OPEEATIONS — WASHINGTON    OEDEBS    OUT    THE    MILITIA — MISSION 

TO   WILLIAMSBUEG HALT  AT   ME.    CHAMBEELAYNE's MES.    MAETHA 

CUSTIS — A  BEIEF  COUBTSHIP — AN  ENGAGEMENT — EETTJEN  TO  WIN- 
OHESTEE — THE  BIFLE  DEESS — INDIAN  SCOUTS — WASHINGTON  ELECTED 
TO   THE   HOUSE  OF  BUEGESSES — TIDINGS  OF  AMHEBST's   SUCCESS — THE 

NEW  EOAD  TO  FOET    DUQUESNE — MAECH  FOE  THE  FOET INDISCEEET 

CONDUCT  OF  MA  JOE  GEANT DISASTEOUS  CONSEQUENCES — WASHING- 
TON ADVANCES  AGAINST  FOET  DUQUESNE END  OF  THE  EXPEDITION — 

WASHINGTON  EETUENS  HOME — HIS  MAEEIAGE. 

Operations  went  on  slowly  in  that  part  of  the  year's 
campaign  in  which  Washington  was  immediately  en- 
gaged— the  expedition  against  Port  Duquesne.  Briga- 
dier-general Forbes,  who  was  commander-in-chief,  was 
detained  at  Philadelphia  by  those  delays  and  cross-pur- 
poses incident  to  military  affairs  in  a  new  country. 
Colonel  Bouquet,  who  was  to  command  the  advanced 
division,  took  his  station,  with  a  corps  of  regulars,  at 
Raystown  in  the  centre  of  Pennsylvania.  There  slowly 
assembled  troops  from  various  parts.  Three  thousand 
Pennsylvanians,  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  South  Caro- 
linians, and  a  few  hundred  men  from  elsewhere. 

Washington,  in  the  mean  time,  gathered  together 


276  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

his  scattered  regiment  at  Winchester,  some  from  a  dis- 
tance of  two  hundred  miles,  and  diligently  disciplined 
his  recruits.  He  had  two  Virginia  regiments  under 
him,  amounting,  when  complete,  to  about  nineteen 
hundred  men.  Seven  hundred  Indian  warriors,  also, 
came  lagging  into  his  camp,  lured  by  the  prospect  of  a 
successful  campaign. 

The  president  of  the  council  had  given  Washington 
a  discretionary  power  in  the  present  juncture,  to  order 
out  militia  for  the  purpose  of  garrisoning  the  fort  in  the 
absence  of  the  regular  troops.  Washington  exercised 
the  power  with  extreme  reluctance.  He  considered  it, 
he  said,  an  affair  of  too  important  and  delicate  a  nature 
for  him  to  manage,  and  apprehended  the  discontent  it 
might  occasion.  In  fact,  his  sympathies  were  always 
with  the  husbandmen  and  the  laborers  of  the  soil,  and 
he  deplored  the  evils  imposed  upon  them  by  arbitrary 
drafts  for  militia  service ;  a  scruple  not  often  indulged 
by  youthful  commanders. 

The  force  thus  assembling  was  in  want  of  arms, 
tents,  field-equipage,  and  almost  every  requisite.  Wash- 
ington had  made  repeated  representations,  by  letter, 
of  the  destitute  state  of  the  Virginia  troops,  but  with- 
out avail ;  he  was  now  ordered  by  Sir  John  St.  Clair, 
the  quartermaster-general  of  the  forces  under  General 
Forbes,  to  repair  to  Williamsburg,  and  lay  the  state  of 
the  case  before  the  council.  He  set  off  promptly  on 
horseback,  attended  by  Bishop,  the  well-trained  mili- 
tary servant,  who  had  served  the  late  General  Brad- 
dock.  It  proved  an  eventful  journey,  though  not  in  a 
military  point  of  view.  In  crossing  a  ferry  of  the 
Pamunkey,  a  branch  of  York  River,  he  fell  in  company 


1758.]  MRS.    MARTHA    CUSTIS.  277 

with  a  Mr.  Chamberlayne,  who  lived  in  the  neighbor- 
hood,  and  who,  in  the  spirit  of  Virginian  hospitality, 
claimed  him  as  a  guest.  It  was  with  difficulty  Wash- 
ington could  be  prevailed  on  to  halt  for  dinner,  so  im- 
patient was  he  to  arrive  at  Williamsburg,  and  accom- 
plish his  mission. 

Among  the  guests  at  Mr.  Chamberlayne's  was  a 
young  and  blooming  widow,  Mrs.  Martha  Custis, 
daughter  of  Mr.  John  Dandridge,  both  patrician  names 
in  the  province.  Her  husband,  John  Parke  Custis, 
had  been  dead  about  three  years,  leaving  her  with  two 
young  children,  and  a  large  fortune.  She  is  represent- 
ed as  being  rather  below  the  middle  size,  but  extremely 
well  shaped,  with  an  agreeable  countenance,  dark  hazel 
eyes  and  hair,  and  those  frank,  engaging  manners,  so 
captivating  in  Southern  women.  We  are  not  informed 
whether  Washington  had  met  with  her  before ;  proba- 
bly not  during  her  widowhood,  as  during  that  time  he 
had  been  almost  continually  on  the  frontier.  We  have 
shown  that,  with  all  his  gravity  and  reserve,  he  was 
quickly  susceptible  to  female  charms;  and  they  may 
have  had  a  greater  effect  upon  him  when  thus  casually 
encountered,  in  fleeting  moments  snatched  from  the 
cares  and  perplexities  and  rude  scenes  of  frontier  war- 
fare. At  any  rate,  his  heart  appears  to  have  been  taken 
by  surprise. 

The  dinner,  which  in  those  days  was  an  earlier 
meal  than  at  present,  seemed  all  too  short.  The  after- 
noon passed  away  like  a  dream.  Bishop  was  punctual 
to  the  orders  he  had  received  on  halting ;  the  horses 
pawed  at  the  door ;  but  for  once  Washington  loitered 
in  the  path  of  duty.     The  horses  were  countermanded, 


278  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [UBS. 

and  it  was  not  until  the  next  morning  that  he  was  again 
in  the  saddle,  spurring  for  Williamsburg.  Happily, 
the  White  House,  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Custis,  was  in 
New  Kent  County,  at  no  great  distance  from  that  city, 
so  that  he  had  opportunities  of  visiting  her  in  the  inter- 
vals of  business.  His  time  for  courtship,  however, 
was  brief.  Military  duties  called  him  back  almost  im- 
mediately to  Winchester;  but  he  feared,  should  he 
leave  the  matter  in  suspense,  some  more  enterprising 
rival  might  supplant  him  during  his  absence,  as  in  the 
case  of  Miss  Philipse,  at  New  York.  He  improved, 
therefore,  his  brief  opportunity  to  the  utmost.  The 
blooming  widow  had  many  suitors,  but  Washington 
was  graced  with  that  renown  so  ennobling  in  the  eyes 
of  woman.  In  a  word,  before  they  separated,  they  had 
mutually  plighted  their  faith,  and  the  marriage  was  to 
take  place  as  soon  as  the  campaign  against  Fort  Du- 
quesne  was  at  an  end. 

Before  returning  to  Winchester,  Washington  was 
obliged  to  hold  conferences  with  Sir  John  St.  Clair  and 
Colonel  Bouquet,  at  an  intermediate  rendezvous,  to 
give  them  information  respecting  the  frontiers,  and 
arrange  about  the  marching  of  his  troops.  His  con- 
stant word  to  them  was  forward !  forward !  For  the 
precious  time  for  action  was  slipping  away,  and  he 
feared  their  Indian  allies,  so  important  to  their  security 
while  on  the  march,  might,  with  their  usual  fickleness, 
lose  patience,  and  return  home. 

On  arriving  at  Winchester,  he  found  his  troops  rest- 
less and  discontented,  from  prolonged  inaction;  the 
inhabitants  impatient  of  the  burdens  imposed  on  them, 
and  of  the  disturbances  of  an  idle  camp ;  while  the 


1758.]  THE   RIFLE   DRESS.  279 

Indians,  as  he  apprehended,  had  deserted  outright.  It 
was  a  great  relief,  therefore,  when  he  received  orders 
from  the  commander-in-chief  to  repair  to  Port  Cumber- 
land. He  arrived  there  on  the  2d  of  July,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  open  a  road  between  that  post  and  head- 
quarters, at  Raystown,  thirty  miles  distant,  where 
Colonel  Bouquet  was  stationed. 

His  troops  were  scantily  supplied  with  regimental 
clothing.  The  weather  was  oppressively  warm.  He 
now  conceived  the  idea  of  equipping  them  in  the  light 
Indian  hunting  garb,  and  even  of  adopting  it  himself. 
Two  companies  were  accordingly  equipped  in  this  style, 
and  sent  under  the  command  of  Major  Lewis  to  head- 
quarters. "  It  is  an  unbecoming  dress,  I  own,  for  an 
officer,"  writes  Washington,  "but  convenience  rather 
than  show,  I  think,  should  be  consulted.  The  reduc- 
tion of  bat-horses  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  recom- 
mend it;  for  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  less 
baggage  would  be  required." 

The  experiment  was  successful.  "  The  dress  takes 
very  well  here,"  writes  Colonel  Bouquet  ;  "  and, 
thank  God,  we  see  nothing  but  shirts  and  blankets. 
*  *  *  Their  dress  should  be  one  pattern  for  this 
expedition."  Such  was  probably  the  origin  of  the 
American  rifle  dress,  afterwards  so  much  worn  in  war- 
fare, and  modelled  on  the  Indian  costume. 

The  army  was  now  annoyed  by  scouting  parties  of 
Indians  hovering  about  the  neighborhood.  Expresses 
passing  between  the  posts  were  fired  upon  ;  a  waggoner 
was  shot  down.  Washington  sent  out  counter-parties 
of  Cherokees.  Colonel  Bouquet  required  that  each 
party  should  be  accompanied  by  an  officer  and  a  num- 


280  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

ber  of  white  men.  Washington  complied  with  the 
order,  though  he  considered  them  an  encumbrance 
rather  than  an  advantage.  "  Small  parties  of  Indians," 
said  he,  "  will  more  effectually  harass  the  enemy,  by 
keeping  them  under  continual  alarms,  than  any  parties 
of  white  men  can  do.  For  small  parties  of  the  latter 
are  not  equal  to  the  task,  not  being  so  dexterous  at 
skulking  as  Indians ;  and  large  parties  will  be  discov- 
ered by  their  spies  early  enough  to  have  a  superior 
force  opposed  to  them."  With  all  his  efforts,  however, 
he  was  never  able  fully  to  make  the  officers  of  the 
regular  army  appreciate  the  importance  of  Indian  allies 
in  these  campaigns  in  the  wilderness. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  earnestly  discountenanced  a 
proposition  of  Colonel  Bouquet,  to  make  an  irruption 
into  the  enemy's  country  with  a  strong  party  of  regulars. 
Such  a  detachment,  he  observed,  could  not  be  sent 
without  a  cumbersome  train  of  supplies,  which  would 
discover  it  to  the  enemy,  who  must  at  that  time  be  col- 
lecting his  whole  force  at  Tort  Duquesne ;  the  enter- 
prise, therefore,  would  be  likely  to  terminate  in  a  mis- 
carriage, if  not  in  the  destruction  of  the  party.  We 
shall  see  that  his  opinion  was  oracular. 

As  Washington  intended  to  retire  from  military  life 
at  the  close  of  this  campaign,  he  had  proposed  himself 
to  the  electors  of  Frederick  County  as  their  representa- 
tive in  the  House  of  Burgesses.  The  election  was 
coming  on  at  Winchester ;  his  friends  pressed  him  to 
attend  it,  and  Colonel  Bouquet  gave  him  leave  of  ab- 
sence ;  but  he  declined  to  absent  himself  from  his  post 
for  the  promotion  of  his  political  interests.  There  were 
three  competitors  in  the  field,  yet  so  high  was  the  pub- 


1758.]  TIDINGS    OF    AMHERST  S    SUCCESS.  281 

lie  opinion  of  his  merit,  that,  though  Winchester  had 
been  his  head-quarters  for  two  or  three  years  past,  and 
he  had  occasionally  enforced  martial  law  with  a  rigor- 
ous hand,  he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  The 
election  was  carried  on  somewhat  in  the  English  style. 
There  was  much  eating  and  drinking  at  the  expense  of 
the  candidate.  Washington  appeared  on  the  hustings 
by  proxy,  and  his  representative  was  chaired  about  the 
town  with  enthusiastic  applause  and  huzzaing  for 
Colonel  Washington. 

On  the  21st  of  July  arrived  tidings  of  the  brilliant 
success  of  that  part  of  the  scheme  of  the  year's  cam- 
paign, conducted  by  General  Amherst  and  Admiral 
Boscawen,  who  had  reduced  the  strong  town  of  Louis- 
burg,  and  gained  possession  of  the  Island  of  Cape  Bre- 
ton. This  intelligence  increased  Washington's  impa- 
tience at  the  delays  of  the  expedition  with  which  he 
was  connected.  He  wished  to  rival  these  successes  by 
a  brilliant  blow  in  the  south.  Perhaps  a  desire  for 
personal  distinction  in  the  eyes  of  the  lady  of  his  choice 
may  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  this  impatience ;  for 
we  are  told  that  he  kept  up  a  constant  correspondence 
with  her  throughout  the  campaign. 

Understanding  that  the  commander-in-chief  had 
some  thoughts  of  throwing  a  body  of  light  troops  in 
the  advance,  he  wrote  to  Colonel  Bouquet,  earnestly 
soliciting  his  influence  to  have  himself  and  his  Virginia 
regiment  included  in  the  detachment.  "If  any  argu- 
ment is  needed  to  obtain  this  favor,"  said  he,  "  I  hope, 
without  vanity,  I  may  be  allowed  to  say,  that  from  long 
intimacy  with  these  woods,  and  frequent  scoutings  in 
them,  my  men  are  at  least  as  well  acquainted  with  all 


282  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

the  passes  and  difficulties  as  any  troops  that  will  be 
employed." 

He  soon  learned  to  his  surprise,  however,  that  the 
road  to  which  his  men  were  accustomed,  and  which  had 
been  worked  by  Braddock's  troops  in  his  campaign, 
was  not  to  be  taken  in  the  present  expedition,  but  a  new 
one  opened  through  the  heart  of  Pennsylvania,  from 
Raystown  to  Port  Duquesne,  on  the  track  generally 
taken  by  the  northern  traders.  He  instantly  com- 
menced long  and  repeated  remonstrances  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  representing  that  Braddock's  road,  from  recent 
examination,  only  needed  partial  repairs,  and  showing 
by  clear  calculation  that  an  army  could  reach  Fort  Du- 
quesne by  that  route  in  thirty-four  days,  so  that  the 
whole  campaign  might  be  effected  by  the  middle  of 
October;  whereas  the  extreme  labor  of  opening  a 
new  road  across  mountains,  swamps,  and  through  a 
densely  wooded  country,  would  detain  them  so  late, 
that  the  season  would  be  over  before  they  could  reach 
the  scene  of  action.  His  representations  were  of  no 
avail.  The  officers  of  the  regular  service  had  received 
a  fearful  idea  of  Braddock's  road  from  his  own  des- 
patches, wherein  he  had  described  it  as  lying  "  across 
mountains  and  rocks  of  an  excessive  height,  vastly 
steep,  and  divided  by  torrents  and  rivers."  Whereas 
the  Pennsylvania  traders,  who  were  anxious  for  the 
opening  of  the  new  road  through  their  province,  de- 
scribed the  country  through  which  it  would  pass  as  less 
difficult,  and  its  streams  less  subject  to  inundation; 
above  all,  it  was  a  direct  line,  and  fifty  miles  nearer. 
This  route,  therefore,  to  the  great  regret  of  Washing- 
ton, and  the  indignation  of  the  Virginia  Assembly, 


1758.]  A   NEW    ROAD    TO    FORT   DUQUESNE.  283 

was  definitively  adopted,  and  sixteen  hundred  men  were 
immediately  thrown  in  the  advance  from  Raystown  to 
work  upon  it. 

The  first  of  September  found  Washington  still  en- 
camped at  Port  Cumberland;  his  troops  sickly  and 
dispirited,  and  the  brilliant  expedition  which  he  had 
anticipated,  dwindling  down  into  a  tedious  operation 
of  road-making.  In  the  mean  time,  his  scouts  brought 
him  word  that  the  whole  force  at  Fort  Duquesne  on 
the  13th  of  August,  Indians  included,  did  not  exceed 
eight  hundred  men:  had  an  early  campaign  been 
pressed  forward,  as  he  recommended,  the  place  by  this 
time  would  have  been  captured.  At  length,  in  the 
month  of  September,  he  received  orders  from  General 
Forbes  to  join  him  with  his  troops  at  Raystown,  where 
he  had  just  arrived,  having  been  detained  by  severe 
illness.  He  was  received  by  the  general  with  the  high- 
est marks  of  respect.  On  all  occasions,  both  in  pri- 
vate and  at  councils  of  war,  that  commander  treated 
his  opinions  with  the  greatest  deference.  He,  more- 
over, adopted  a  plan  drawn  out  by  Washington  for 
the  march  of  the  army,  and  an  order  of  battle  which 
still  exists,  furnishing  a  proof  of  his  skill  in  frontier 
warfare. 

It  was  now  the  middle  of  September;  yet  the 
great  body  of  men  engaged  in  opening  the  new  mili- 
tary road,  after  incredible  toil,  had  not  advanced  above 
forty-five  miles,  to  a  place  called  Loyal  Hannan,  a  little 
beyond  Laurel  Hill.  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  command- 
ed the  division  of  nearly  two  thousand  men  sent  for- 
ward to  open  this  road,  had  halted  at  Loyal  Hannan  to 
establish  a  military  post  and  deposit. 


284  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

He  was  upwards  of  fifty  miles  from  Port  Duquesne, 
and  was  tempted  to  adopt  the  measure,  so  strongly  dis- 
countenanced by  Washington,  of  sending  a  party  on  a 
foray  into  the  enemy's  country.  He  accordingly  de- 
tached Major  Grant  with  eight  hundred  picked  men, 
some  of  them  Highlanders,  others,  in  Indian  garb,  the 
part  of  Washington's  Virginian  regiment  sent  forward 
by  him  from  Cumberland  under  command  of  Major 
Lewis. 

The  instructions  given  to  Major  Grant  were  merely 
to  reconnoitre  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  and  ascertain  the  strength  and  position  of 
the  enemy.  He  conducted  the  enterprise  with  the 
foolhardiness  of  a  man  eager  for  personal  notoriety. 
His  whole  object  seems  to  have  been  by  open  bravado 
to  provoke  an  action.  The  enemy  were  apprised, 
through  their  scouts,  of  his  approach,  but  suffered  him 
to  advance  unmolested.  Arriving  at  night  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  fort,  he  posted  his  men  on  a  hill, 
and  sent  out  a  party  of  observation,  who  set  fire  to  a 
log  house  near  the  walls  and  returned  to  the  encamp- 
ment. As  if  this  were  not  sufficient  to  put  the  enemy 
on  the  alert,  he  ordered  the  reveille  to  be  beaten  in  the 
morning  in  several  places ;  then,  posting  Major  Lewis 
with  his  provincial  troops  at  a  distance  in  the  rear,  to 
protect  the  baggage,  he  marshalled  his  regulars  in  bat- 
tle array,  and  sent  an  engineer,  with  a  covering  party, 
to  take  a  plan  of  the  works  in  full  view  of  the  garrison. 
Not  a  gun  was  fired  by  the  fort ;  the  silence  which 
was  maintained  was  mistaken  for  fear,  and  increased 
the  arrogance  and  blind  security  of  the  British  com- 
mander.   '  At  length,  when  he  was   thrown  off  his 


1758.]  DISASTROUS    CONSEQUENCES.  285 

guard,  there  was  a  sudden  sally  of  the  garrison,  and  an 
attack  on  the  flanks  by  Indians  hid  in  ambush.  A 
scene  now  occurred  similar  to  that  at  the  defeat  of 
Braddock.  The  British  officers  marshalled  their  men 
according  to  European  tactics,  and  the  Highlanders  for 
some  time  stood  their  ground  bravely ;  but  the  destruc- 
tive fire  and  horrid  yells  of  the  Indians  soon  produced 
panic  and  confusion.  Major  Lewis,  at  the  first  noise 
of  the  attack,  left  Captain  Bullitt,  with  fifty  Virginians, 
to  guard  the  baggage,  and  hastened  with  the  main  part 
of  his  men  to  the  scene  of  action.  The  contest  was 
kept  up  for  some  time,  but  the  confusion  was  irretriev- 
able. The  Indians  sallied  from  their  concealment,  and 
attacked  with  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  Lewis 
fought  hand  to  hand  with  an  Indian  brave,  whom  he 
laid  dead  at  his  feet ;  but  was  surrounded  by  others, 
and  only  saved  his  life  by  surrendering  himself  to  a 
French  officer.  Major  Grant  surrendered  himself  in 
like  manner.  The  whole  detachment  was  put  to  the 
rout  with  dreadful  carnage. 

Captain  Bullitt  rallied  several  of  the  fugitives,  and 
prepared  to  make  a  forlorn  stand,  as  the  only  chance 
where  the  enemy  was  overwhelming  and  merciless. 
Despatching  the  most  valuable  baggage  with  the  strong- 
est horses,  he  made  a  barricade  with  the  baggage  wag- 
gons, behind  which  he  posted  his  men,  giving  them 
orders  how  they  were  to  act.  All  this  was  the  thought 
and  the  work  almost  of  a  moment;  for  the  savages, 
having  finished  the  havoc  and  plunder  of  the  field  of 
battle,  were  hastening  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  Bul- 
litt suffered  them  to  come  near,  when,  on  a  concerted 
signal,  a  destructive  fire  was  opened  from  behind  the 


286  LI*£    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

baggage  waggons.  They  were  checked  for  a  time,  but 
were  again  pressing  forward  in  greater  numbers,  when 
Bullitt  and  his  men  held  out  the  signal  of  capitulation, 
and  advanced  as  if  to  surrender.  When  within  eight 
yards  of  the  enemy,  they  suddenly  levelled  their  arms, 
poured  a  most  effective  volley,  and  then  charged  with 
the  bayonet.  The  Indians  fled  in  dismay,  and  Bullitt 
took  advantage  of  this  check  to  retreat  with  all  speed, 
collecting  the  wounded  and  the  scattered  fugitives  as  he 
advanced.  The  routed  detachment  came  back  in  frag- 
ments to  Colonel  Bouquet's  camp  at  Loyal  Hannan, 
with  the  loss  of  twenty-one  officers,  and  two  hundred 
and  seventy-three  privates,  killed  and  taken.  The 
Highlanders  and  the  Virginians  were  those  that  fought 
the  best,  and  suffered  the  most  in  this  bloody  battle. 
Washington's  regiment  lost  six  officers  and  sixty-two 
privates. 

If  Washington  could  have  taken  any  pride  in  see- 
ing his  presages  of  misfortune  verified,  he  might  have 
been  gratified  by  the  result  of  this  rash  "  irruption  into 
the  enemy's  country,"  which  was  exactly  what  he  had 
predicted.  In  his  letters  to  Governor  Fauquier,  how- 
ever, he  bears  lightly  on  the  error  of  Colonel  Bouquet. 
"  Prom  all  accounts  I  can  collect,"  says  he,  "  it  appears 
very  clear  that  this  was  a  very  ill-concerted,  or  a  very 
ill-executed  plan,  perhaps  both;  but  it  seems  to  be 
generally  acknowledged  that  Major  Grant  exceeded  his 
orders,  and  that  no  disposition  was  made  for  en- 
gaging" 

Washington,  who  was  at  Raystown  when  the  disas- 
trous news  arrived,  was  publicly  complimented  by 
General  Forbes,  on  the  gallant  conduct  of  his  Virgin- 


1758.J  THE   ARMY   AT   LOYAL   HANNA^.  287 

ian  troops,  and  Bullitt's  behavior  was  "  a  matter  of 
great  admiration."  The  latter  was  soon  after  reward- 
ed with  a  major's  commission. 

As  a  further  mark  of  the  high  opinion  now  enter- 
tained of  provincial  troops  for  frontier  service,  Washing- 
ton was  given  the  command  of  a  division,  partly  com- 
posed of  his  own  men,  to  keep  in  the  advance  of  the 
main  body,  clear  the  roads,  throw  out  scouting  parties, 
and  repel  Indian  attacks. 

It  was  the  5th  of  November  before  the  whole  army 
assembled  at  Loyal  Hannan.  Winter  was  now  at 
hand,  and  upwards  of  fifty  miles  of  wilderness  were 
yet  to  be  traversed,  by  a  road  not  yet  formed,  before 
they  could  reach  Tort  Duquesne.  Again  Washington's 
predictions  seemed  likely  to  be  verified,  and  the  expe- 
dition to  be  defeated  by  delay ;  for  in  a  council  of  war 
it  was  determined  to  be  impracticable  to  advance  fur- 
ther with  the  army  that  season.  Three  prisoners,  how- 
ever, who  were  brought  in,  gave  such  an  account  of  the 
weak  state  of  the  garrison  at  Port  Duquesne,  its  want 
of  provisions,  and  the  defection  of  the  Indians,  that  it 
was  determined  to  push  forward.  The  march  was  ac- 
cordingly resumed,  but  without  tents  or  baggage,  and 
with  only  a  light  train  of  artillery. 

Washington  still  kept  the  advance.  After  leaving 
Loyal  Hannan,  the  road  presented  traces  of  the  late 
defeat  of  Grant ;  being  strewed  with  human  bones,  the 
sad  relics  of  fugitives  cut  down  by  the  Indians,  or  of 
wounded  soldiers  who  had  died  on  the  retreat ;  they 
lay  mouldering  in  various  stages  of  decay,  mingled 
with  the  bones  of  horses  and  of  oxen.  As  they  ap- 
proached Port  Duquesne,  these  mementoes  of  former 


288  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1758. 

disasters  became  more  frequent ;  and  the  bones  of 
those  massacred  in  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  still  lay 
scattered  about  the  battle  field,  whitening  in  the  sun. 

At  length  the  army  arrived  in  sight  of  Port  Du- 
quesne,  advancing  with  great  precaution,  and  expecting 
a  vigorous  defence ;  but  that  formidable  fortress,  the 
terror  and  scourge  of  the  frontier,  and  the  object  of 
such  warlike  enterprise,  fell  without  a  blow.  The 
recent  successes  of  the  English  forces  in  Canada,, 
particularly  the  capture  and  destruction  of  Port 
Frontenac,  had  left  the  garrison  without  hope  of 
reinforcements  and  supplies.  The  whole  force,  at  the 
time,  did  not  exceed  five  hundred  men,  and  the  pro- 
visions were  nearly  exhausted.  The  commander,  there- 
fore, waited  only  until  the  English  army  was  within 
one  day's  march,  when  he  embarked  his  troops  at  night 
in  batteaux,  blew  up  his  magazines,  set  fire  to  the  fort, 
and  retreated  down  the  Ohio,  by  the  light  of  the 
flames.  On  the  25th  of  November,  Washington,  with 
the  advanced  guard,  marched  in,  and  planted  the  Brit- 
ish flag  on  the  yet  smoking  ruins. 

One  of  the  first  offices  of  the  army  was  to  collect 
and  bury,  in  one  common  tomb,  the  bones  of  their 
fellow-soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  the  battles  of  Brad- 
dock  and  Grant.  In  this  pious  duty  it  is  said  every 
one  joined,  from  the  general  down  to  the  private  soldier  ; 
and  some  veterans  assisted,  with  heavy  hearts  and  fre- 
quent ejaculations  of  poignant  feeling,  who  had  been 
present  in  the  scenes  of  defeat  and  carnage. 

The  ruins  of  the  fortress  were  now  put  in  a  defen- 
sible state,  and  garrisoned  by  two  hundred  men  from 
Washington's  regiment ;  the  name  was  changed  to  that 


1759.J  MARRIAGE    WITH    MRS.    CUSTIS.  289 

of  Port  Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  illustrious  British  minis- 
ter, whose  measures  had  given  vigor  and  effect  to  this 
year's  campaign  ;  it  has  since  been  modified  into  Pitts- 
burg, and  designates  one  of  the  most  busy  and  popu- 
lous cities  of  the  interior. 

The  reduction  of  Port  Duquesne  terminated,  as 
Washington  had  foreseen,  the  troubles  and  dangers  of 
the  southern  frontier.  The  Prench  domination  of  the 
Ohio  was  at  an  end ;  the  Indians,  as  usual,  paid  hom- 
age to  the  conquering  power,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  was 
concluded  with  all  the  tribes  between  the  Ohio  and  the 
lakes. 

With  this  campaign  ended,  for  the  present,  the 
military  career  of  Washington.  His  great  object  was 
attained,  the  restoration  of  quiet  and  security  to  his 
native  province;  and,  having  abandoned  all  hope  of 
attaining  rank  in  the  regular  army,  and  his  health  being 
much  impaired,  he  gave  up  his  commission  at  the  close 
of  the  year,  and  retired  from  the  service,  followed  by 
the  applause  of  his  fellow-soldiers,  and  the  gratitude 
and  admiration  of  all  his  countrymen. 

His  marriage  with  Mrs.  Custis  took  place  shortly 
after  his  return.  It  was  celebrated  on  the  6th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1759,  at  the  White  House,  the  residence  of  the 
bride,  in  the  good  old  hospitable  style  of  Virginia,  amid 
a  joyous  assemblage  of  relatives  and  friends. 


VOL.  i. — 19 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS  FOE  1759 — INVESTMENT  OF  FOET  NIAGARA — DEATH 
OF  PRIDE ATJX — SUCCESS  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON — AMHERST  AT  TI- 
CONDEROGA — WOLFE  AT  QUEBEC — HIS  TRIUMPH  AND  DEATH — FATE 
OF  MONTCALM — CAPITULATION  OF  QUEBEC — ATTEMPT  OF  DE  LEVI 
TO  RETAKE  IT — ARRIVAL  OF  A  BRITISH  FLEET — LAST  STAND  OF  THE 
FRENCH  AT  MONTREAL — SURRENDER    OF  CANADA. 

Before  following  Washington  into  the  retirement  of 
domestic  life,  we  think  it  proper  to  notice  the  events 
which  closed  the  great  struggle  between  England  and 
France  for  empire  in  America.  In  that  struggle  he 
had  first  become  practised  in  arms,  and  schooled  in  the 
ways  of  the  world ;  and  its  results  will  be  found  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  his  later  years. 

General  Abercrombie  had  been  superseded  as  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  forces  in  America,  by  Major- 
general  Amherst,  who  had  gained  great  favor  by  the 
reduction  of  Louisburg.  According  to  the  plan  of 
operations  for  1759,  General  Wolfe,  who  had  risen  to 
fame  by  his  gallant  conduct  in  the  same  affair,  was  to 


1759.]  INVESTMENT    OF    FORT   NIAGARA.  291 

ascend  the  St.  Lawrence  in  a  fleet  of  ships  of  war, 
with  eight  thousand  men,  as  soon  as  the  river  should 
be  free  of  ice,  and  lay  siege  to  Quebec,  the  capital  of 
Canada.  General  Amherst,  in  the  mean  time,  was  to 
advance,  as  Abercrombie  had  done,  by  Lake  George, 
against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point;  reduce  those 
forts,  cross  Lake  Champlain,  push  on  to  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  co-operate  with  Wolfe. 

A  third  expedition,  under  Brigadier-general  Pri- 
deaux,  aided  by  Sir  William  Johnson  and  his  Indian 
warriors,  was  to  attack  Port  Niagara,  which  controlled 
the  whole  country  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  commanded 
the  navigation  of  the  great  lakes,  and  the  intercourse 
between  Canada  and  Louisiana.  Having  reduced  this 
fort,  he  was  to  traverse  Lake  Ontario,  descend  the  St. 
Lawrence,  capture  Montreal,  and  join  his  forces  with 
those  of  Amherst. 

The  last  mentioned  expedition  was  the  first  execu- 
ted. General  Prideaux  embarked  at  Oswego  on  the 
first  of  July,  with  a  large  body  of  troops,  regulars  and 
provincials, — the  latter  partly  from  New  York.  He 
was  accompanied  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  his  In- 
dian braves  of  the  Mohawk.  Landing  at  an  inlet  of 
Lake  Ontario,  within  a  few  miles  of  Port  Niagara,  he 
advanced,  without  being  opposed,  and  proceeded  to  in- 
vest it.  The  garrison,  six  hundred  strong,  made  a 
resolute  defence.  The  siege  was  carried  on  by  regular 
approaches,  but  pressed  with  vigor.  On  the  20th  of 
July,  Prideaux,  in  visiting  his  trenches,  was  killed  by 
the  bursting  of  a  cohorn.  Informed  by  express  of  this 
misfortune,  General  Amherst  detached  from  the  main 


292  LIFE    OP   WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

army  Brigadier-general  Gage,  the  officer  who  had  led 
Braddock's  advance,  to  take  the  command. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  siege  had  been  conducted  by 
Sir  William  Johnson  with  courage  and  sagacity.  He 
was  destitute  of  military  science,  but  had  a  natural 
aptness  for  warfare,  especially  for  the  rough  kind  carried 
on  in  the  wilderness.  Being  informed  by  his  scouts 
that  twelve  hundred  regular  troops,  drawn  from  De- 
troit, Venango,  and  Presque  Isle,  and  led  by  D'Aubry, 
with  a  number  of  Indian  auxiliaries,  were  hastening  to 
the  rescue,  he  detached  a  force  of  grenadiers  and  light 
infantry,  with  some  of  his  Mohawk  warriors,  to  inter- 
cept them.  They  came  in  sight  of  each  other  on  the 
road,  between  Niagara  Tails  and  the  fort,  within  the 
thundering  sound  of  the  one,  and  the  distant  view  of 
the  other.  Johnson's  "braves"  advanced  to  have  a 
parley  with  the  hostile  red-skins.  The  latter  received 
them  with  a  war-whoop,  and  Frenchman  and  savage 
made  an  impetuous  onset.  Johnson's  regulars  and 
provincials  stood  their  ground  firmly,  while  his  red 
warriors  fell  on  the  flanks  of  the  enemy.  After  a 
sharp  conflict,  the  French  were  broken,  routed,  and 
pursued  through  the  woods,  with  great  carnage. 
Among  the  prisoners  taken  were  seventeen  officers. 
The  next  day  Sir  William  Johnson  sent  a  trumpet, 
summoning  the  garrison  to  surrender,  to  spare  the 
effusion  of  blood,  and  prevent  outrages  by  the  Indians. 
They  had  no  alternative ;  were  permitted  to  march  out 
with  the  honors  of  war,  and  were  protected  by  Sir 
William  from  his  Indian  allies.  Thus  was  secured  the 
key  to  the  communication  between  Lakes  Ontario  and 
Erie,  and  to  the  vast  interior  region  connected  with 


1759.]  AMHERST    AT   TICONDEROGA.  293 

them.  The  blow  alarmed  the  French  for  the  safety  of 
Montreal,  and  De  Levi,  the  second  in  command  of 
their  Canadian  forces,  hastened  up  from  before  Quebec, 
and  took  post  at  the  fort  of  Oswegatchie  (now  Og- 
densburg),  to  defend  the  passes  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

We  now  proceed  to  notice  the  expedition  against 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  In  the  month  of  July, 
General  Amherst  embarked  with  nearly  twelve  thou- 
sand men,  at  the  upper  part  of  Lake  George,  and  pro- 
ceeded down  it,  as  Abercrombie  had  done  in  the 
preceding  year,  in  a  vast  fleet  of  whaleboats,  bat- 
teaux,  and  rafts,  and  all  the  glitter  and  parade  of  war. 
On  the  2 2d,  the  army  debarked  at  the  lower  part  of 
the  lake,  and  advanced  toward  Ticonderoga.  After  a 
slight  skirmish  with  the  advanced  guard,  they  secured 
the  old  post  at  the  saw-mill. 

Montcalm  was  no  longer  in  the  fort ;  he  was  absent 
for  the  protection  of  Quebec.  The  garrison  did  not 
exceed  four  hundred  men.  Bourlamarque,  a  brave 
officer,  who  commanded,  at  first  seemed  disposed  to 
make  defence ;  but  against  such  overwhelming  force 
it  would  have  been  madness.  Dismantling  the  fortifi- 
cations, therefore,  he  abandoned  them,  as  he  did  like- 
wise those  at  Crown  Point,  and  retreated  down  the 
lake,  to  assemble  forces,  and  make  a  stand  at  the  Isle 
Aux  Noix,  for  the  protection  of  Montreal  and  the 
province. 

Instead  of  following  him  up,  and  hastening  to  co- 
operate with  Wolfe,  General  Amherst  proceeded  to 
repair  the  works  at  Ticonderoga,  and  erect  a  new  fort 
at  Crown  Point,  though  neither  were  in  present  dan- 
ger of  being  attacked,  nor  would  be  of  use  if  Canada 


294  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1759 

were  conquered.  Amherst,  however,  was  one  of  those 
cautious  men,  who,  in  seeking  to  be  sure,  are  apt  to  be 
fatally  slow.  His  delay  enabled  the  enemy  to  rally 
their  forces  at  Isle  Aux  Noix,  and  call  in  Canadian 
reinforcements,  while  it  deprived  Wolfe  of  that  co- 
operation which,  it  will  be  shown,  was  most  essential 
to  the  general  success  of  the  campaign. 

Wolfe,  with  his  eight  thousand  men,  ascended  the 
St.  Lawrence  in  the  fleet,  in  the  month  of  June.  With 
him  came  Brigadiers  Monckton,  Townshend  and  Mur- 
ray, youthful  and  brave  like  himself,  and,  like  himself, 
already  schooled  in  arms.  Monckton,  it  will  be  recol- 
lected, had  signalized  himself,  when  a  colonel,  in  the 
expedition  in  1755,  in  which  the  French  were  driven 
from  Nova  Scotia.  The  grenadiers  of  the  army  were 
commanded  by  Colonel  Guy  Carleton,  and  part  of  the 
light  infantry  by  Lieutenant-colonel  William  Howe, 
both  destined  to  celebrity  in  after  years,  in  the  annals 
of  the  American  Revolution.  Colonel  Howe  was 
brother  of  the  gallant  Lord  Howe,  whose  fall  in  the 
preceding  year  was  so  generally  lamented.  Among 
the  officers  of  the  fleet,  was  Jervis,  the  future  admiral, 
and  ultimately  Earl  St.  Vincent ;  and  the  master  of 
one  of  the  ships,  was  James  Cook,  afterwards  re- 
nowned as  a  discoverer. 

About  the  end  of  June,  the  troops  debarked  on  the 
large,  populous,  and  well-cultivated  Isle  of  Orleans,  a 
little  below  Quebec,  and  encamped  in  its  fertile  fields. 
Quebec,  the  citadel  of  Canada,  was  strong  by  nature. 
It  was  built  round  the  point  of  a  rocky  promontory, 
and  flanked  by  precipices.  The  crystal  current  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  swept  by  it  on  the  right,  and  the  river  St. 


1759.J  WOLFE    BEFORE    QUEBEC.  295 

Charles  flowed  along  on  the  left,  before  roingling  with 
that  mighty  stream.  The  place  was  tolerably  fortified, 
but  art  had  not  yet  rendered  it,  as  at  the  present  day, 
impregnable. 

Montcalm  commanded  the  post.  His  troops  were 
more  numerous  than  the  assailants;  but  the  greater 
part  were  Canadians,  many  of  them  inhabitants  of 
Quebec;  and  he  had  a  host  of  savages.  His  forces 
were  drawn  out  along  the  northern  shore  below  the 
city,  from  the  river  St.  Charles  to  the  Palls  of  Mont- 
morency, and  their  position  was  secured  by  deep  in- 
trenchments. 

The  night  after  the  debarkation  of  Wolfe's  troops, 
a  furious  storm  caused  great  damage  to  the  transports, 
and  sunk  some  of  the  small  craft.  While  it  was  still 
raging,  a  number  of  fire-ships,  sent  to  destroy  the  fleet, 
came  driving  down.  They  were  boarded  intrepidly  by 
the  British  seamen,  and  towed  out  of  the  way  of  doing 
harm.  After  much  resistance,  Wolfe  established  bat- 
teries at  the  west  point  of  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and  at 
Point  Levi,  on  the  right  (or  south)  bank  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  within  cannon  range  of  the  city.  Colonel 
Guy  Carleton  commanded  at  the  former  battery; 
Brigadier  Monckton  at  the  latter.  Prom  Point  Levi, 
bombshells  and  red-hot  shot  were  discharged;  many 
houses  were  set  on  fire  in  the  upper  town,  the  lower 
town  was  reduced  to  rubbish ;  the  main  fort,  however, 
remained  unharmed. 

Anxious  for  a  decisive  action,  Wolfe,  on  the  9th  of 
July,  crossed  over  in  boats  from  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  to 
the  north  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  encamped 
below  the  Montmorency.     It  was  an  ill-judged  posi- 


296  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

tion,  for  there  was  still  that  tumultuous  stream,  with 
its  rocky  banks,  between  him  and  the  camp  of  Mont- 
calm ;  but  the  ground  he  had  chosen  was  higher  than 
that  occupied  by  the  latter,  and  the  Montmorency  had 
a  ford  below  the  falls,  passable  at  low  tide.  Another 
ford  was  discovered,  three  miles  within  land,  but  the 
banks  were  steep,  and  shagged  with  forest.  At  both 
fords  the  vigilant  Montcalm  had  thrown  up  breast- 
works, and  posted  troops. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  Wolfe  made  a  reconnoitering 
expedition  up  the  river,  with  two  armed  sloops,  and 
two  transports  with  troops.  He  passed  Quebec  un- 
harmed, and  carefully  noted  the  shores  above  it.  Rug- 
ged cliffs  rose  almost  from  the  water's  edge.  Above 
them,  he  was  told,  was  an  extent  of  level  ground, 
called  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  by  which  the  upper 
town  might  be  approached  on  its  weakest  side ;  but 
how  was  that  plain  to  be  attained,  when  the  cliffs,  for 
the  most  part,  were  inaccessible,  and  every  practicable 
place  fortified  ? 

He  returned  to  Montmorency  disappointed,  and 
resolved  to  attack  Montcalm  in  his  camp,  however  diffi- 
cult to  be  approached,  and  however  strongly  posted. 
Townshend  and  Murray,  with  their  brigades,  were  to 
cross  the  Montmorency  at  low  tide,  below  the  falls,  and 
storm  the  redoubt  thrown  up  in  front  of  the  ford. 
Monckton,  at  the  same  time,  was  to  cross  with  part  of 
his  brigade  in  boats,  from  Point  Levi.  The  ship  Cen- 
turion, stationed  in  the  channel,  was  to  check  the  fire 
of  a  battery  which  commanded  the  ford;  a  train  of 
artillery  planted  on  an  eminence,  was  to  enfilade  the 
enemy's  intrenchments ;  and  two  armed,  flat-bottomed 


1759.]     WOLFE  AT  THE  FALLS  OF  MONTMORENCY.        297 

boats,  were  to  be  run  on  shore,  near  the  redoubt,  and 
favor  the  crossing  of  the  troops. 

As  usual,  in  complicated  orders,  part  were  misun- 
derstood, or  neglected,  and  confusion  was  the  conse- 
quence. Many  of  the  boats  from  Point  Levi  ran 
aground  on  a  shallow  in  the  river,  where  they  were  ex- 
posed to  a  severe  fire  of  shot  and  shells.  Wolfe,  who 
was  on  the  shore,  directing  every  thing,  endeavored  to 
stop  his  impatient  troops  until  the  boats  could  be  got 
afloat,  and  the  men  landed.  Thirteen  companies  of 
grenadiers,  and  two  hundred  provincials  were  the  first 
to  land.  Without  waiting  for  Brigadier  Monckton 
and  his  regiments  ;  without  waiting  for  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  troops  under  Townshend  j  without  waiting 
even  to  be  drawn  up  in  form,  the  grenadiers  rushed 
impetuously  towards  the  enemy's  intrenchments.  A 
sheeted  fire  mowed  them  down,  and  drove  them  to 
take  shelter  behind  the  redoubt,  near  the  ford,  which 
the  enemy  had  abandoned.  Here  they  remained,  una- 
ble to  form  under  the  galling  fire  to  which  they  were 
exposed,  whenever  they  ventured  from  their  covert. 
Monckton' s  brigade  at  length  was  landed,  drawn  up  in 
order,  and  advanced  to  their  relief,  driving  back  the  en- 
emy. Thus  protected,  the  grenadiers  retreated  as  pre- 
cipitately as  they  had  advanced,  leaving  many  of  their 
comrades  wounded  on  the  field,  who  were  massacred 
and  scalped  in  their  sight,  by  the  savages.  The  delay 
thus  caused  was  fatal  to  the  enterprise.  The  day  was 
advanced ;  the  weather  became  stormy  ;  the  tide  began 
to  make ;  at  a  later  hour,  retreat,  in  case  of  a  second 
repulse,  would  be  impossible.  Wolfe,  therefore,  gave 
up  the  attack,  and  withdrew  across  the  river,  having 


298  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

lost  upwards  of  four  hundred  men,  through  this  head- 
long impetuosity  of  the  grenadiers.  The  two  vessels 
which  had  been  run  aground  were  set  on  fire,  lest  they 
should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.* 

Brigadier  Murray  was  now  detached  with  twelve 
hundred  men,  in  transports,  to  ascend  above  the  town, 
and  co-operate  with  Rear-admiral  Holmes  in  destroying 
the  enemy's  shipping,  and  making  descents  upon  the 
north  shore.  The  shipping  were  safe  from  attack ; 
some  stores  and  ammunition  were  destroyed;  some 
prisoners  taken,  and  Murray  returned  with  the  news 
of  the  capture  of  Fort  Niagara,  Ticonderoga,  and 
Crown  Point,  and  that  Amherst  was  preparing  to 
attack  the  Isle  Aux  Noix. 

Wolfe,  of  a  delicate  constitution  and  sensitive  na- 
ture, had  been  deeply  mortified  by  the  severe  check 
sustained  at  the  Palls  of  Montmorency,  fancying  him- 
self disgraced ;  and  these  successes  of  his  fellow-com- 
manders in  other  parts  increased  his  self-upbraiding. 
The  difficulties  multiplying  around  him,  and  the  delay 
of  General  Amherst  in  hastening  to  his  aid,  preyed  in- 
cessantly on  his  spirits ;  he  was  dejected  even  to  de- 
spondency, and  declared  he  would  never  return  without 
success,  to  be  exposed,  like  other  unfortunate  com- 
manders, to  the  sneers  and  reproaches  of  the  populace. 
The  agitation  of  his  mind,  and  his  acute  sensibility, 
brought  on  a  fever,  which  for  some  time  incapacitated 
him  from  taking  the  field. 

In  the  midst  of  his  illness  he  called  a  council  of 
ivar,  in  which  the  whole  plan  of  operations  was  altered. 

*  Wolfe's  letter  to  Pitt,  Sept.  2d,  1759. 


1759.]  WOLFE    BEFORE   THE    BATTLE.  299 

It  was  determined  to  convey  troops  above  the  town, 
and  endeavor  to  make  a  diversion  in  that  direction,  or 
draw  Montcalm  into  the  open  field.  Before  carrying 
this  plan  into  effect,  Wolfe  again  reconnoitered  the 
town  in  company  with  Admiral  Saunders,  but  nothing 
better  suggested  itself. 

The  brief  Canadian  summer  was  over ;  they  were 
in  the  month  of  September.  The  camp  at  Montmo- 
rency was  broken  up.  The  troops  were  transported  to 
Point  Levi,  leaving  a  sufficient  number  to  man  the  bat- 
teries on  the  Isle  of  Orleans.  On  the  fifth  and  sixth 
of  September  the  embarkation  took  place  above  Point 
Levi,  in  transports  which  had  been  sent  up  for  the  pur- 
pose. Montcalm  detached  De  Bougainville  with  fifteen 
hundred  men,  to  keep  along  the  north  shore  above  the 
town,  wratch  the  movements  of  the  squadron,  and  pre- 
vent a  landing.  To  deceive  him,  Admiral  Holmes 
moved  with  the  ships  of  war  three  leagues  beyond  the 
place  where  the  landing  was  to  be  attempted.  He  was 
to  drop  down,  however,  in  the  night,  and  protect  the 
landing.  Cook,  the  future  discoverer,  also,  was  em- 
ployed with  others  to  sound  the  river  and  place  buoys 
opposite  the  camp  of  Montcalm,  as  if  an  attack  were 
meditated  in  that  quarter. 

Wolfe  was  still  suffering  under  the  effects  of  his 
late  fever.  "  My  constitution,"  writes  he  to  a  friend, 
"  is  entirely  ruined,  without  the  consolation  of  having 
done  any  considerable  service  to  the  state,  and  without 
any  prospect  of  it."  Still  he  was  unremitting  in  his 
exertions,  seeking  to  wipe  out  the  fancied  disgrace 
incurred  at  the  Palls  of  Montmorency.  It  was  in  this 
mood  he  is  said  to  have  composed  and  sung  at  his 


300  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759 

evening  mess,  that  little  campaigning  song  still  linked 
with  his  name : 

Why,  soldiers,  why 
Should  we  be  melancholy,  boys ! 
Why,  soldiers,  why? 
Whose  business  'tis  to  die ! 

Even  when  embarked  in  his  midnight  enterprise, 
the  presentiment  of  death  seems  to  have  cast  its  shadow 
over  him.  A  midshipman  who  was  present,*  nsed  to 
relate,  that  as  Wolfe  sat  among  his  officers,  and  the 
boats  floated  down  silently  with  the  current,  he  recited, 
in  low  and  touching  tones,  Gray's  Elegy  in  a  country 
churchyard,  then  just  published.  One  stanza  may 
especially  have  accorded  with  his  melancholy  mood. 

"  The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  th'  inevitable  hour, 
The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 

"  Now  gentlemen,"  said  he,  when  he  had  finished, 
"  I  would  rather  be  the  author  of  that  poem  than  take 
Quebec.,, 

The  descent  was  made  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  past 
midnight,  on  the  13th  of  September.  They  dropped 
down  silently  with  the  swift  current.  "  Qui  va  la  ? " 
(who  goes  there?)  cried  a  sentinel  from  the  shore. 
" La  France'9  replied  a  captain  in  the  first  boat,  who 
understood  the  Trench  language.  "A  quel  regi- 
ment?" was  the  demand.  "Be  la  Heine"  (the 
queen's),  replied  the  captain,  knowing  that  regiment 
was  in  De  Bougainville's  detachment.     Fortunately,  a 

*  Afterwards  Professor  John  Robison,  of  Edinburgh. 


1759.]        WOLFE  ON  THE  PLAINS  OF  ABRAHAM.  301 

convoy  of  provisions  was  expected  down  from  De  Bou- 
gainville's, which  the  sentinel  supposed  this  to  be. 
"Passe"  cried  he,  and  the  boats  glided  on  without 
further  challenge.  The  landing  took  place  in  a  cove 
near  Cape  Diamond,  which  still  bears  Wolfe's  name. 
He  had  marked  it  in  reconnoitering,  and  saw  that  a 
cragged  path  straggled  up  from  it  to  the  Heights  of 
Abraham,  which  might  be  climbed,  though  with  diffi- 
culty, and  that  it  appeared  to  be  slightly  guarded  at 
top.  Wolfe  was  among  the  first  that  landed  and 
ascended  up  the  steep  and  narrow  path,  where  not 
more  than  two  could  go  abreast,  and  which  had  been 
broken  up  by  cross  ditches.  Colonel  Howe,  at  the 
same  time,  with  the  light  infantry  and  Highlanders, 
scrambled  up  the  woody  precipices,  helping  themselves 
by  the  roots  and  branches,  and  putting  to  flight  a 
sergeant's  guard  posted  at  the  summit.  Wolfe  drew 
up  the  men  in  order  as  they  mounted ;  and  by  the 
break  of  day  found  himself  in  possession  of  the  fateful 
Plains  of  Abraham. 

Montcalm  was  thunderstruck  when  word  was 
brought  to  him  in  his  camp  that  the  English  were  on 
the  heights  threatening  the  weakest  part  of  the  town. 
Abandoning  his  intrenchments,  he  hastened  across  the 
river  St.  Charles  and  ascended  the  heights,  which  slope 
up  gradually  from  its  banks.  His  force  was  equal  in 
number  to  that  of  the  English,  but  a  great  part  was 
made  up  of  colony  troops  and  savages.  When  he  saw 
the  formidable  host  of  regulars  he  had  to  contend  with, 
he  sent  off  swift  messengers  to  summon  De  Bougain- 
ville with  his  detachment  to  his  aid ;  and  De  Vaudreuil 
to  reinforce  him  with  fifteen  hundred  men  from  the 


802    '  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759, 

camp.  In  the  mean  time  he  prepared  to  flank  the  left 
of  the  English  line  and  force  them  to  the  opposite  pre- 
cipices. Wolfe  saw  his  aim,  and  sent  Brigadier  Towns- 
hend  to  counteract  him  with  a  regiment  which  was 
formed  en  jpotence,  and  supported  by  two  battalions, 
presenting  on  the  left  a  double  front. 

The  French,  in  their  haste,  thinking  they  were  to 
repel  a  mere  scouting  party,  had  brought  but  three 
light  field-pieces  with  them;  the  English  had  but  a 
single  gun,  which  the  sailors  had  dragged  up  the 
heights.  With  these  they  cannonaded  each  other  for  a 
time,  Montcalm  still  waiting  for  the  aid  he  had  sum- 
moned. At  length,  about  nine  o'clock,  losing  all  pa- 
tience, he  led  on  his  disciplined  troops  to  a  close  con- 
flict with  small  arms,  the  Indians  to  support  them  by  a 
galling  fire  from  thickets  and  corn-fields.  The  Erench 
advanced  gallantly,  but  irregularly ;  firing  rapidly,  but 
with  little  effect.  The  English  reserved  their  fire  until 
their  assailants  were  within  forty  yards,  and  then  deliv- 
ered it  in  deadly  volleys.  They  suffered,  however, 
from  the  lurking  savages,  who  singled  out  the  officers. 
Wolfe,  who  was  in  front  of  the  line,  a  conspicuous 
mark,  was  wounded  by  a  ball  in  the  wrist.  He  bound 
his  handkerchief  round  the  wound,  and  led  on  the 
grenadiers,  with  fixed  bayonets,  to  charge  the  foe,  who 
began  to  waver.  Another  ball  struck  him  in  the 
breast.  He  felt  the  wound  to  be  mortal,  and  feared 
his  fall  might  dishearten  the  troops.  Leaning  on  a 
lieutenant  for  support,  "  Let  not  my  brave  fellows  see 
me  drop,"  said  he  faintly.  He  was  borne  off  to  the 
rear ;  water  was  brought  to  quench  his  thirst,  and  he 
was  asked  if  he  would  have  a  surgeon.     "It  is  need- 


1759.]  DEATH    OF   WOLFE.  303 

less,"  he  replied ;  "  it  is  all  over  with  me."  He  de- 
sired those  about  him  to  lay  him  down.  The  lieutenant 
seated  himself  on  the  ground,  and  supported  him  in  his 
arms.  "They  run!  they  run!  see  how  they  run!" 
cried  one  of  the  attendants.  "  Who  run  ?  "  demanded 
Wolfe,  earnestly,  like  one  aroused  from  sleep.  "The 
enemy,  sir ;  they  give  way  every  where."  The  spirit 
of  the  expiring  hero  flashed  up.  "  Go,  one  of  you,  my 
lads,  to  Colonel  Burton;  tell  him  to  march  Webb's 
regiment  with  all  speed  down  to  Charles  River,  to  cut 
off  the  retreat  by  the  bridge."  Then  turning  on  his 
side ;  "  Now,  God  be  praised,  I  will  die  in  peace ! " 
said  he,  and  expired,* — soothed  in  his  last  moments  by 
the  idea  that  victory  would  obliterate  the  imagined  dis- 
grace at  Montmorency. 

Brigadier  Murray  had  indeed  broken  the  centre  of 
the  enemy,  and  the  Highlanders  were  making  deadly 
havoc  with  their  claymores,  driving  the  French  into  the 
town  or  down  to  their  works  on  the  river  St.  Charles. 
Monckton,  the  first  brigadier,  was  disabled  by  a  wound 
in  the  lungs,  and  the  command  devolved  on  Towns- 
hend,  who  hastened  to  re-form  the  troops  of  the  centre, 
disordered  in  pursuing  the  enemy.  By  this  time  De 
Bougainville  appeared  at  a  distance  in  the  rear,  advanc- 
ing with  two  thousand  fresh  troops ;  but  he  arrived  too 
late  to  retrieve  the  day.  The  gallant  Montcalm  had 
received  his  death-wound  near  St.  John's  Gate,  while 
endeavoring  to  rally  his  flying  troops,  and  had  been 
borne  into  the  town. 

Townshend  advanced  with  a  force  to  receive  De 

*  Hist.  Jour,  of  Capt.  John  Knox,  vol  i.,  p.  79. 


304  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

Bougainville ;  but  the  latter  avoided  a  combat,  and 
retired  into  woods  and  swamps,  where  it  was  not 
thought  prudent  to  follow  him.  The  English  had  ob- 
tained a  complete  victory ;  slain  about  five  hundred  of 
the  enemy;  taken  above  a  thousand  prisoners,  and 
among  them  several  officers ;  and  had  a  strong  position 
on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  which  they  hastened  to 
fortify  with  redoubts,  and  artillery  drawn  up  the 
heights. 

The  brave  Montcalm  wrote  a  letter  to  General 
Townshend,  recommending  the  prisoners  to  British 
humanity.  When  told  by  his  surgeon  that  he  could 
not  survive  above  a  few  hours;  "So  much  the 
better,"  replied  he;  "I  shall  not  five  to  see  the 
surrender  of  Quebec."  To  De  Ramsey,  the  French 
king's  lieutenant,  who  commanded  the  garrison,  he 
consigned  the  defence  of  the  city.  "  To  your  keep- 
ing," said  he,  "  I  commend  the  honor  of  Prance.  Ill 
neither  give  orders,  nor  interfere  any  further.  I  have 
business  to  attend  to  of  greater  moment  than  your 
ruined  garrison,  and  this  wretched  country.  My  time 
is  short, — I  shall  pass  this  night  with  God,  and  pre- 
pare myself  for  death.  I  wish  you  all  comfort;  and 
to  be  happily  extricated  from  your  present  perplexi- 
ties." He  then  called  for  his  chaplain,  who,  with  the 
bishop  of  the  colony,  remained  with  him  through  the 
night.  He  expired  early  in  the  morning,  dying  like  a 
brave  soldier  and  a  devout  Catholic.  Never  did  two 
worthier  foes  mingle  their  life-blood  on  the  battle-field 
than  Wolfe  and  Montcalm.* 

N      *  Knox:  Hist  Jour,  vol  i.,  p.  11. 


1759.]  CAPITULATION    OP    QUEBEC.  305 

Preparations  were  now  made  by  the  army  and  the 
fleet  to  make  an  attack  on  both  upper  and  lower  town ; 
but  the  spirit  of  the  garrison  was  broken,  and  the 
inhabitants  were  clamorous  for  the  safety  of  their  wives 
and  children.  On  the  17th  of  September,  Quebec 
capitulated,  and  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  Brit- 
ish, who  hastened  to  put  it  in  a  complete  posture  of 
defence.  A  garrison  of  six  thousand  effective  men  was 
placed  in  it,  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-general 
Murray,  and  victualled  from  the  fleet.  General  Towns- 
hend  embarked  with  Admiral  Saunders,  and  returned 
to  England  ;  and  the  wounded  General  Monckton  was 
conveyed  to  New  York,  of  which  he  afterwards  became 
governor. 

Had  Amherst  followed  up  his  success  at  Ticonde- 
roga  the  preceding  summer,  the  year's  campaign  would 
have  ended,  as  had  been  projected,  in  the  subjugation 
of  Canada.  His  cautious  delay  gave  De  Levi,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Montcalm,  time  to  rally,  concentrate  the  scat- 
tered French  forces,  and  struggle  for  the  salvation  of 
the  province. 

In  the  following  spring,  as  soon  as  the  river  St 
Lawrence  opened,  he  approached  Quebec,  and  landed 
at  Point  au  Tremble,  about  twelve  miles  off.  The  gar- 
rison had  suffered  dreadfully  during  the  winter  from 
excessive  cold,  want  of  vegetables,  and  of  fresh  pro- 
visions. Many  had  died  of  scurvy,  and  many  more 
were  ill.  Murray,  sanguine  and  injudicious,  on  hear- 
ing that  De  Levi  was  advancing  with  ten  thousand 
men,  and  five  hundred  Indians,  sallied  out  with  his  di- 
minished forces  of  not  more  than  three  thousand. 
English  soldiers,  he  boasted,  were  habituated  to  vic- 
vol.  i.— 20 


306  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

tory  j  he  had  a  fine  train  of  artillery,  and  stood  a  bet- 
ter chance  in  the  field  than  cooped  up  in  a  wretched 
fortification.  If  defeated,  he  would  defend  the  place 
to  the  last  extremity,  and  then  retreat  to  the  Isle  of 
Orleans,  and  wait  for  reinforcements.  More  brave 
than  discreet,  he  attacked  the  vanguard  of  the  enemy ; 
the  battle  which  took  place  was  fierce  and  sanguinary. 
Murray's  troops  had  caught  his  own  headlong  valor, 
and  fought  until  near  a  third  of  their  number  were 
slain.  They  were  at  length  driven  back  into  the  town, 
leaving  their  boasted  train  of  artillery  on  the  field. 

De  Levi  opened  trenches  before  the  town  the  very 
evening  of  the  battle.  Three  Erench  ships,  which  had 
descended  the  river,  furnished  him  with  cannon,  mor- 
tars, and  ammunition.  By  the  11th  of  May,  he  had 
one  bomb  battery,  and  three  batteries  of  cannon. 
Murray,  equally  alert  within  the  walls,  strengthened  his 
defences,  and  kept  up  a  vigorous  fire.  His  garrison 
was  now  reduced  to  two  hundred  and  twenty  effective 
men,  and  he  himself,  with  all  his  vaunting  spirit,  was 
driven  almost  to  despair,  when  a  British  fleet  arrived  in 
the  river.  The  whole  scene  was  now  reversed.  One 
of  the  French  frigates  was  driven  on  the  rocks  above 
Cape  Diamond ;  another  ran  on  shore,  and  was  burnt ; 
the  rest  of  their  vessels  were  either  taken,  or  destroyed. 
The  besieging  army  retreated  in  the  night,  leaving  pro- 
visions, implements,  and  artillery  behind  them ;  and  so 
rapid  was  their  flight,  that  Murray,  who  sallied  forth 
on  the  following  day,  could  not  overtake  them. 

A  last  stand  for  the  preservation  of  the  colony  was 
now  made  by  the  Trench  at  Montreal,  where  De  Vau- 


1759.]  LAST    STAND    OF   THE   FRENCH.  307 

dreuil  fixed  his  head-quarters,  fortified  himself,  and 
called  in  all  possible  aid,  Canadian  and  Indian. 

The  cautious,  but  tardy  Amherst,  was  now  in  the 
field,  to  carry  out  the  plan  in  which  he  had  fallen  short 
in  the  previous  year.  He  sent  orders  to  General  Mur- 
ray to  advance  by  water  against  Montreal,  with  all  the 
force  that  could  be  spared  from  Quebec ;  he  detached 
a  body  of  troops  under  Colonel  Haviland  from  Crown 
Point,  to  cross  Lake  Champlain,  take  possession  of  the 
Isle  Aux  Noix,  and  push  on  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  while 
he  took  the  roundabout  way  with  his  main  army  by  the 
Mohawk  and  Oneida  rivers  to  Lake  Ontario ;  thence  to 
descend  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Montreal. 

Murray,  according  to  orders,  embarked  his  troops 
in  a  great  number  of  small  vessels,  and  ascended  the 
river  in  characteristic  style,  publishing  manifestoes  in 
the  Canadian  villages,  disarming  the  inhabitants,  and 
exacting  the  oath  of  neutrality.  He  looked  forward  to 
new  laurels  at  Montreal,  but  the  slow  and  sure  Amherst 
had  anticipated  him.  That  worthy  general,  after  de- 
laying on  Lake  Ontario  to  send  out  cruisers,  and  stop- 
ping to  repair  petty  forts  on  the  upper  part  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  which  had  been  deserted  by  their  garrisons, 
or  surrendered  without  firing  a  gun,  arrived  on  the  6th 
of  September  at  the  island  of  Montreal,  routed  some 
fight  skirmishing  parties,  and  presented  himself  before 
the  town.  Vaudreuil  found  himself  threatened  by  an 
army  of  nearly  ten  thousand  men,  and  a  host  of  Indians  ; 
for  Amherst  had  called  in  the  aid  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
and  his  Mohawk  braves.  To  withstand  a  siege  in  an 
almost  open  town  against  such  superior  force,  was  out 
of  the  question;   especially  as  Murray  from  Quebec, 


308  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

and  Haviland  from  Crown  Point,  were  at  hand  with 
additional  troops.  A  capitulation  accordingly  took 
place  on  the  8th  of  September,  including  the  surrender 
not  merely  of  Montreal,  but  of  all  Canada. 

Thus  ended  the  contest  between  Prance  and  Eng- 
land for  dominion  in  America,  in  which,  as  has  been 
said,  the  first  gun  was  fired  in  Washington's  encounter 
with  De  Jumonville.  A  Prench  statesman  and  diplo- 
matist consoled  himself  by  the  persuasion  that  it  would 
be  a  fatal  triumph  to  England.  It  would  remove  the 
only  check  by  which  her  colonies  were  kept  in  awe. 
"  They  will  no  longer  need  her  protection,"  said  he ; 
"  she  will  call  on  them  to  contribute  toward  supporting 
the  burdens  they  have  helped  to  bring  on  her,  and 
they  will  answer  by  strUciny  off  all  dependence."* 

*  Count  de  Vergennes,  French  ambassador  at  Constantinople. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Washington's  installation  in  the  house  of  bubgesses — his  bubal 
life — mount  veenon  and  its  vicinity — aeistoceatical  dats  of 
vieginia — Washington's  management  of  his  estate — domestic 
habits — fox-hunting — loed  fairfax — fishing  and  duck-shoot- 
ing  the  poachee — lynch  law — aquatic  state — life  at  an- 
napolis— washington  in  the  dismal  swamp. 

For  three  months  after  his  marriage,  Washington  re- 
sided with  his  bride  at  the  "White  House."  During 
his  sojourn  there,  he  repaired  to  Williamsburg,  to  take 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Burgesses.  By  a  vote  of  the 
House,  it  had  been  determined  to  greet  his  instalment  by 
a  signal  testimonial  of  respect.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as 
he  took  his  seat,  Mr.  Robinson,  the  speaker,  in  elo- 
quent language,  dictated  by  the  warmth  of  private 
friendship,  returned  thanks,  on  behalf  of  the  colony, 
for  the  distinguished  military  services  he  had  rendered 
to  his  country. 

Washington  rose  to  reply ;  blushed — stammered — 
trembled,  and  could  not  utter  a  word.  "  Sit  down, 
Mr.  Washington,"  said  the  speaker,  with  a  smile; 
"  your  modesty  equals  your  valor,  and  that  surpasses 
the  power  of  any  language  I  possess." 


310  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

Such  was  Washington's  first  launch  into  civil  life, 
in  which  he  was  to  be  distinguished  by  the  same  judg- 
ment, devotion,  courage,  and  magnanimity  exhibited  in 
his  military  career.  He  attended  the  House  frequently 
during  the  remainder  of  the  session,  after  which  he 
conducted  Ms  bride  to  his  favorite  abode  of  Mount 
Vernon. 

Mr.  Custis,  the  first  husband  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
had  left  large  landed  property,  and  forty-five  thousand 
pounds  sterling  in  money.  One  third  fell  to  his  widow 
in  her  own  right ;  two  thirds  were  inherited  equally  by 
her  two  children, — a  boy  of  six,  and  a  girl  of  four 
years  of  age.  By  a  decree  of  the  General  Court, 
Washington  was  intrusted  with  the  care  of  the  prop- 
erty inherited  by  the  children ;  a  sacred  and  delicate 
trust,  which  he  discharged  in  the  most  faithful  and 
judicious  manner ;  becoming  more  like  a  parent,  than 
a  mere  guardian  to  them. 

Prom  a  letter  to  his  correspondent  in  England,  it 
would  appear  that  he  had  long  entertained  a  desire  to 
visit  that  country.  Had  he  done  so,  his  acknowledged 
merit  and  military  services  would  have  insured  him  a 
distinguished  reception ;  and  it  has  been  intimated, 
that  the  signal  favor  of  government  might  have 
changed  the  current  of  his  career.  We  believe  him, 
however,  to  have  been  too  pure  a  patriot,  and  too 
clearly  possessed  of  the  true  interests  of  his  country, 
to  be  diverted  from  the  course  which  he  ultimately 
adopted.  His  marriage,  at  any  rate,  had  put  an  end 
to  all  travelling  inclinations.  In  his  letter  from  Mount 
Vernon,  he  writes :  "  I  am  now,  I  believe,  fixed  in  this 
seat,  with  an  agreeable  partner  for  life,  and  I  hope  to 


1759.]        MOUNT   VERNON    AND    ITS   VICINITY.  311 

find  more  happiness  in  retirement  than  I  ever  experi- 
enced in  the  wide  and  bustling  world." 

This  was  no  Utopian  dream  transiently  indulged, 
amid  the  charms  of  novelty.  It  was  a  deliberate  pur- 
pose with  him,  the  result  of  innate  and  enduring  inch- 
nations.  Throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  career, 
agricultural  life  appears  to  have  been  his  beau  ideal  of 
existence,  which  haunted  his  thoughts  even  amid  the 
stern  duties  of  the  field,  and  to  which  he  recurred  with 
unflagging  interest  whenever  enabled  to  indulge  his 
natural  bias. 

Mount  Vernon  was  his  harbor  of  repose,  where  he 
repeatedly  furled  his  sail,  and  fancied  himself  anchored 
for  life.  No  impulse  of  ambition  tempted  him  thence ; 
nothing  but  the  call  of  his  country,  and  his  devotion  to 
the  public  good.  The  place  was  endeared  to  him  by 
the  remembrance  of  his  brother  Lawrence,  and  of  the 
happy  days  he  had  passed  here  with  that  brother  in  the 
days  of  boyhood;  but  it  was  a  dehghtful  place  in 
itself,  and  well  calculated  to  inspire  the  rural  feeling. 

The  mansion  was  beautifully  situated  on  a  swelling 
height,  crowned  with  wood,  and  commanding  a  mag- 
nificent view  up  and  down  the  Potomac.  The  grounds 
immediately  about  it  were  laid  out  somewhat  in  the 
English  taste.  The  estate  was  apportioned  into  sepa- 
rate farms,  devoted  to  different  kinds  of  culture,  each 
having  its  allotted  laborers.  Much,  however,  was  still 
covered  with  wild  woods,  seamed  with  deep  dells  and 
runs  of  water,  and  indented  with  inlets ;  haunts  of 
deer,  and  lurking-places  of  foxes.  The  whole  woody 
region  along  the  Potomac  from  Mount  Vernon  to  Bel- 
voir,  and  far  beyond,  with  its  range  of  forests  and  hills, 


312  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759. 

and  picturesque  promontories,  afforded  sport  of  various 
kinds,  and  was  a  noble  hunting-ground.  Washington 
had  hunted  through  it  with  old  Lord  Fairfax  in  his 
stripling  days ;  we  do  not  wonder  that  his  feelings 
throughout  life  incessantly  reverted  to  it. 

"  No  estate  in  United  America,"  observes  he,  in 
one  of  his  letters,  "  is  more  pleasantly  situated.  In  a 
high  and  healthy  country ;  in  a  latitude  between  the 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold ;  on  one  of  the  finest  rivers 
in  the  world ;  a  river  well  stocked  with  various  kinds 
of  fish  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  in  the  spring  with 
shad,  herrings,  bass,  carp,  sturgeon,  &c,  in  great  abun- 
dance. The  borders  of  the  estate  are  washed  by  more 
than  ten  miles  of  tide  water ;  several  valuable  fisheries 
appertain  to  it :  the  whole  shore,  in  fact,  is  one  entire 
fishery." 

These  were,  as  yet,  the  aristocratical  days  of  Vir- 
ginia. The  estates  were  large,  and  continued  in  the 
same  families  by  entails.  Many  of  the  wealthy  plant- 
ers were  connected  with  old  families  in  England.  The 
young  men,  especially  the  elder  sons,  were  often  sent 
to  finish  their  education  there,  and  on  their  return 
brought  out  the  tastes  and  habits  of  the  mother  coun- 
try. The  governors  of  Virginia  were  from  the  higher 
ranks  of  society,  and  maintained  a  corresponding  state. 
The  "established,"  or  Episcopal  Church,  predominated 
throughout  the  "  ancient  dominion,"  as  it  was  termed ; 
each  county  was  divided  into  parishes,  as  in  England, — 
each  with  its  parochial  church,  its  parsonage,  and  glebe. 
Washington  was  vestryman  of  two  parishes,  Fairfax 
and  Truro ;  the  parochial  church  of  the  former  was  at 
Alexandria,  ten  miles  from  Mount  Vernon ;  of  the  lat- 


1759. J  VIRGINIA   LIFE.  313 

ter,  at  Pohick,  about  seven  miles.  The  church  at 
Pohick  was  rebuilt  on  a  plan  of  his  own,  and  in  a  great 
measure  at  his  expense.  At  one  or  other  of  these 
churches  he  attended  every  Sunday,  when  the  weather 
and  the  roads  permitted.  His  demeanor  was  reveren- 
tial and  devout.  Mrs.  Washington  knelt  during  the 
prayers ;  he  always  stood,  as  was  the  custom  at  that 
time.     Both  were  communicants. 

Among  his  occasional  visitors  and  associates  were 
Captain  Hugh  Mercer  and  Dr.  Craik ;  the  former,  after 
his  narrow  escapes  from  the  tomahawk  and  scalping- 
knife,  was  quietly  settled  at  Fredericksburg ;  the  latter, 
after  the  campaigns  on  the  frontier  were  over,  had 
taken  up  his  residence  at  Alexandria,  and  was  now 
Washington's  family  physician.  Both  were  drawn  to 
him  by  campaigning  ties  and  recollections,  and  were 
ever  welcome  at  Mount  Vernon. 

A  style  of  living  prevailed  among  the  opulent  Vir- 
ginian families  in  those  days  that  has  long  since  faded 
away.  The  houses  were  spacious,  commodious,  liberal 
in  all  their  appointments,  and  fitted  to  cope  with  the 
free-handed,  open-hearted  hospitality  of  the  owners. 
Nothing  was  more  common  than  to  see  handsome  ser- 
vices of  plate,  elegant  equipages,  and  superb  carriage 
horses — all  imported  from  England. 

The  Virginians  have  always  been  noted  for  their 
love  of  horses ;  a  manly  passion  which,  in  those  days 
of  opulence,  they  indulged  without  regard  to  expense. 
The  rich  planters  vied  with  each  other  in  their  studs, 
importing  the  best  English  stocks.  Mention  is  made 
of  one  of  the  Randolphs  of  Tuckahoe,  who  built  a  sta- 
ble for  his  favorite  dapple-gray  horse,  Shakespeare,  with 


314  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759-03. 

a  recess  for  the  bed  of  the  negro  groom,  who  always 
slept  beside  him  at  night. 

Washington,  by  his  marriage,  had  added  above  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  his  already  considerable 
fortune,  and  was  enabled  to  live  in  ample  and  dignified 
style.  His  intimacy  with  the  Fairfaxes,  and  his  inter- 
course with  British  officers  of  rank,  had  perhaps  had 
their  influence  on  his  mode  of  living.  He  had  his  chariot 
and  four,  with  black  postilions  in  livery,  for  the  use  of 
Mrs.  Washington  and  her  lady  visitors.  As  for  him- 
self, he  always  appeared  on  horseback.  His  stable  was 
well  filled,  and  admirably  regulated.  His  stud  was 
thorough-bred  and  in  excellent  order.  His  household 
books  contain  registers  of  the  names,  ages,  and  marks 
of  his  favorite  horses ;  such  as  Ajax,  Blueskin,  Valiant, 
Magnolia  (an  Arab),  &c.  Also  his  dogs,  chiefly  fox- 
hounds, Vulcan,  Singer,  Bingwood,  Sweetlips,  Forres- 
ter, Music,  Bockwood,  Truelove,  &c* 

A  large  Virginia  estate,  in  those  days,  was  a  little 
empire.  The  mansion-house  was  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, with  its  numerous  dependencies,  such  as  kitch- 


*  In  one  of  his  letter-books  we  find  orders  on  his  London  agent  for 
riding  equipments.    For  example : 

1  Man's  riding-saddle,  hogskin  seat,  large  plated  stirrups,  and  every 
thing  complete.    Double  reined  bridle  and  Pelham  bit,  plated. 

A  very  neat  and  fashionable  Newmarket  saddle-cloth. 

A  large  and  best  portmanteau,  saddle,  bridle,  and  pillion. 

Cloak-bag  surcingle ;  checked  saddle-cloth,  holsters,  <fcc. 

A  riding-frock  of  a  handsome  drab-colored  broadcloth,  with  plain  double 
gilt  buttons. 

A  riding  waistcoat  of  superfine  scarlet  cloth  and  gold  lace,  with  buttons 
like  those  of  the  coat. 

A  blue  surtout  coat 

A  neat  switch  whip,  silver  cap. 

Black  velvet  cap  for  servant 


1759-63.]  DOMESTIC    HABITS.  315 

ens,  smoke-house,  workshops  and  stables.  In  this 
mansion  the  planter  ruled  supreme;  his  steward  or 
overseer  was  his  prime  minister  and  executive  officer ; 
he  had  his  legion  of  house  negroes  for  domestic  ser- 
vice, and  his  host  of  field  negroes  for  the  culture  of 
tobacco,  Indian  corn,  and  other  crops,  and  for  other 
out  of  door  labor.  Their  quarter  formed  a  kind  of 
hamlet  apart,  composed  of  various  huts,  with  little  gar- 
dens and  poultry  yards,  all  well  stocked,  and  swarms 
of  little  negroes  gambolling  in  the  sunshine.  Then 
there  were  large  wooden  edifices  for  curing  tobacco,  the 
staple  and  most  profitable  production,  and  mills  for 
grinding  wheat  and  Indian  corn,  of  which  large  fields 
were  cultivated  for  the  supply  of  the  family  and  the 
maintenance  of  the  negroes. 

Among  the  slaves  were  artificers  of  all  kinds, 
tailors,  shoemakers,  carpenters,  smiths,  wheelwrights, 
and  so  forth;  so  that  a  plantation  produced  every 
thing  within  itself  for  ordinary  use :  as  to  articles  of 
fashion  and  elegance,  luxuries,  and  expensive  clothing, 
they  were  imported  from  London ;  for  the  planters  on 
the  main  rivers,  especially  the  Potomac,  carried  on  an 
immediate  trade  with  England.  Their  tobacco  was  put 
up  by  their  own  negroes,  bore  their  own  marks,  was 
shipped  on  board  of  vessels  which  came  up  the  rivers 
for  the  purpose,  and  consigned  to  some  agent  in  Liver- 
pool or  Bristol,  with  whom  the  planter  kept  an  account. 

The  Virginia  planters  were  prone  to  leave  the  care 
of  their  estates  too  much  to  their  overseers,  and  to 
think  personal  labor  a  degradation.  Washington  car- 
ried into  his  rural  affairs  the  same  method,  activity, 
and  circumspection  that  had  distinguished  him  in  miK- 


316  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759-63 

tary  life.  He  kept  his  own  accounts,  posted  np  his 
books,  and  balanced  them  with  mercantile  exactness. 
We  have  examined  them,  as  well  as  his  diaries  record- 
ing his  daily  occupations,  and  his  letter-books,  contain- 
ing entries  of  shipments  of  tobacco,  and  correspond- 
ence with  his  London  agents.  They  are  monuments 
of  his  business  habits.* 

The  products  of  his  estate  also  became  so  noted 
for  the  faithfulness,  as  to  quality  and  quantity,  with 
which  they  were  put  up,  that  it  is  said  any  barrel  of 
flour  that  bore  the  brand  of  George  Washington, 
Mount  Vernon,  was  exempted  from  the  customary  in- 
spection in  the  West  India  ports. f 

He  was  an  early  riser,  often  before  daybreak  in  the 
winter  when  the  nights  were  long.  On  such  occasions 
he  lit  his  own  fire,  and  wrote  or  read  by  candle-light. 
He  breakfasted  at  seven  in  summer,  at  eight  in  winter. 
Two  small  cups  of  tea  and  three  or  four  cakes  of  In- 
dian meal  (called  hoe-cakes),  formed  his  frugal  repast. 

*  The  following  letter  of  Washington  to  his  London  correspondents  will 
give  an  idea  of  the  early  intercourse  of  the  Virginia  planters  with  the  mo- 
ther country. 

"  Our  goods  by  the  Liberty,  Capt.  Walker,  came  to  hand  in  good  order, 
and  soon  after  his  arrival,  as  they  generally  do  when  shipped  in  a  vessel  to 
this  river  [the  Potomac],  and  scarce  ever  when  they  go  to  any  others ;  for 
it  don't  often  happen  that  a  vessel  bound  to  one  river  has  goods  of  any  con- 
sequence to  another ;  and  the  masters,  in  these  cases,  keep  the  packages  till 
an  accidental  conveyance  offers,  and  for  want  of  better  opportunities  fre- 
quently commit  them  to  boatmen,  who  care  very  little  for  the  goods,  so 
they  get  their  freight,  and  often  land  them  wherever  it  suits  their  conveni- 
ence, not  where  they  have  engaged  to  do  so.  *  *  *  *  A  ship  from 
London  to  Virginia  may  be  in  Rappahannock  or  any  of  the  other  rivers 
three  months  before  I  know  any  thing  of  their  arrival,  and  may  make 
twenty  voyages  without  my  seeing  or  even  hearing  of  the  captain." 

f  Speech  of  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop  on  laying  the  corner-stone  of 
Washington's  Monument. 


1759-63.]  DAILY   HABITS.  317 

Immediately  after  breakfast,  he  mounted  his  horse  and 
visited  those  parts  of  the  estate  where  any  work  was 
going  on,  seeing  to  every  thing  with  his  own  eyes,  and 
often  aiding  with  his  own  hand. 

Dinner  was  served  at  two  o'clock.  He  ate  heartily, 
but  was  no  epicure,  nor  critical  about  his  food.  His 
beverage  was  small  beer  or  cider,  and  two  glasses  of 
old  Madeira.  He  took  tea,  of  which  he  was  very  fond, 
early  in  the  evening,  and  retired  for  the  night  about 
nine  o'clock. 

If  confined  to  the  house  by  bad  weather,  he  took 
that  occasion  to  arrange  his  papers,  post  up  his  ac- 
counts, or  write  letters ;  passing  part  of  the  time  in 
reading,  and  occasionally  reading  aloud  to  the  family. 

He  treated  his  negroes  with  kindness ;  attended  to 
their  comforts;  was  particularly  careful  of  them  in 
sickness ;  but  never  tolerated  idleness,  and  exacted  a 
faithful  performance  of  all  their  allotted  tasks.  He  had 
a  quick  eye  at  calculating  each  man's  capabilities.  An 
entry  in  his  diary  gives  a  curious  instance  of  this. 
Eour  of  his  negroes,  employed  as  carpenters,  were 
hewing  and  shaping  timber.  It  appeared  to  him,  in 
noticing  the  amount  of  work  accomplished  between 
two  succeeding  mornings,  that  they  loitered  at  their 
labor.  Sitting  down  quietly  he  timed  their  operations ; 
how  long  it  took  them  to  get  their  cross-cut  saw  and 
other  implements  ready ;  how  long  to  clear  away  the 
branches  from  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree  ;  how  long  to 
hew  and  saw  it ;  what  time  was  expended  in  consider- 
ing and  consulting,  and  after  all,  how  much  work  was 
effected  during  the  time  he  looked  on.     From  this  he 


318  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759-63. 

made  his  computation  how  much  they  could  execute  in 
the  course  of  a  day,  working  entirely  at  their  ease. 

At  another  time  we  find  him  working  for  a  part  of 
two  days  with  Peter,  his  smith,  to  make  a  plough  on  a 
new  invention  of  his  own.  This,  after  two  or  three 
failures,  he  accomplished.  Then,  with  less  than  his 
usual  judgment,  he  put  his  two  chariot  horses  to  the 
plough,  and  ran  a  great  risk  of  spoiling  them,  in  giv- 
ing his  new  invention  a  trial  over  ground  thickly 
swarded. 

Anon,  during  a  thunder-storm,  a  frightened  negro 
alarms  the  house,  with  word  that  the  mill  is  giving 
way,  upon  which  there  is  a  general  turn-out  of  all  the 
forces,  with  Washington  at  their  head,  wheeling  and 
shovelling  gravel,  during  a  pelting  rain,  to  check  the 
rushing  water. 

Washington  delighted  in  the  chase.  In  the  hunt- 
ing season,  when  he  rode  out  early  in  the  morning  to 
visit  distant  parts  of  the  estate,  where  work  was  going  on, 
he  often  took  some  of  the  dogs  with  him  for  the  chance 
of  starting  a  fox,  which  he  occasionally  did,  though  he 
was  not  always  successful  in  killing  him.  He  was  a 
bold  rider  and  an  admirable  horseman,  though  he  never 
claimed  the  merit  of  being  an  accomplished  fox-hunter. 
In  the  height  of  the  season,  however,  he  would  be  out 
with  the  fox-hounds  two  or  three  times  a  week,  accom- 
panied by  his  guests  at  Mount  Vernon  and  the  gentle- 
men of  the  neighborhood,  especially  the  Fairfaxes  of 
Belvoir,  of  which  estate  his  friend  George  William 
Fairfax  was  now  the  proprietor.  On  such  occasions 
there  would  be  a  hunting  dinner  at  one  or  other  of 
those  establishments,  at  which  convivial  repasts  Wash- 


1759-63.]  FOX-HUNTING.  319 

ington  is  said  to  have  enjoyed  himself  with  unwonted 
hilarity. 

Now  and  then  his  old  friend  and  instructor  in  the 
noble  art  of  venery,  Lord  Fairfax,  would  be  on  a  visit 
to  his  relatives  at  Belvoir,  and  then  the  hunting  was 
kept  up  with  unusual  spirit.* 

His  lordship,  however,  since  the  alarms  of  Indian 
war  had  ceased,  lived  almost  entirely  at  Greenway 
Court,  where  Washington  was  occasionally  a  guest, 
when  called  by  public  business  to  Winchester.  Lord 
Fairfax  had  made  himself  a  favorite  throughout  the 
neighborhood.  As  lord-lieutenant  and  custos  rotulorum 
of  Frederick  County,  he  presided  at  county  courts  held 
at  Winchester,  where,  during  the  sessions,  he  kept  open 
table.  He  acted  also  as  surveyor  and  overseer  of  the 
public  roads  and  highways,  and  was  unremitting  in  his 
exertions  and  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  country. 
Hunting,  however,  was  his  passion.  When  the  sport 
was  poor  near  home,  he  would  take  his  hounds  to  a 
distant  part  of  the  country,  establish  himself  at  an  inn, 
and  keep  open  house  and  open  table  to  every  person  of 
good  character  and  respectable  appearance  who  chose  to 
join  him  in  following  the  hounds. 

*  Hunting  memoranda  from  Washington's  journal,  Mount  Vernon. 

Nov.  22.— Hunting  with  Lord  Fairfax  and  his  brother,  and  Colonel  Fair- 
fax. 

Nov.  25.— Mr.  Bryan  Fairfax,  Mr.  Grayson,  and  Phil.  Alexander  came 
here  by  sunrise.  Hunted  and  catched  a  fox  with  these,  Lord  Fairfax,  his 
brother,  and  Col.  Fairfax,— all  of  whom,  with  Mr.  Fairfax  and  Mr.  Wilson 
of  England,  dined  here.  26th  and  29th. — Hunted  again  with  the  same 
company. 

Dec.  5.— Fox-hunting  with  Lord  Fairfax  and  his  brother,  and  Colonel 
Fairfax.  Started  a  fox  and  lost  it.  Dined  at  Belvoir,  and  returned  in  the 
evening. 


320  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759-63. 

It  was  probably  in  quest  of  sport  of  the  kind  that 
he  now  and  then,  in  the  hunting  season,  revisited  his 
old  haunts  and  former  companions  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac,  and  then  the  beautiful  woodland  region  about 
Belvoir  and  Mount  Vernon  was  sure  to  ring  at  early 
morn  with  the  inspiring  music  of  the  hound. 

The  waters  of  the  Potomac  also  afforded  occasional 
amusement  in  fishing  and  shooting.  The  fishing  was 
sometimes  on  a  grand  scale,  when  the  herrings  came  up 
the  river  in  shoals,  and  the  negroes  of  Mount  Vernon 
were  marshalled  forth  to  draw  the  seine,  which  was 
generally  done  with  great  success.  Canvas-back  ducks 
abounded  at  the  proper  season,  and  the  shooting  of 
them  was  one  of  Washington's  favorite  recreations. 
The  river  border  of  his  domain,  however,  was  some- 
what subject  to  invasion.  An  oysterman  once  anchored 
his  craft  at  the  landing-place,  and  disturbed  the  quiet 
of  the  neighborhood  by  the  insolent  and  disorderly 
conduct  of  himself  and  crew.  It  took  a  campaign  of 
three  days  to  expel  these  invaders  from  the  premises. 

A  more  summary  course  was  pursued  with  another 
interloper.  This  was  a  vagabond  who  infested  the 
creeks  and  inlets  which  bordered  the  estate,  lurking  in 
a  canoe  among  the  reeds  and  bushes,  and  making  great 
havoc  among  the  canvas -back  ducks.  He  had  been 
warned  off  repeatedly,  but  without  effect.  As  Wash- 
ington was  one  day  riding  about  the  estate  he  heard 
the  report  of  a  gun  from  the  margin  of  the  river. 
Spurring  in  that  direction,  he  dashed  through  the 
bushes  and  came  upon  the  culprit  just  as  he  was  push- 
ing his  canoe  from  shore.  The  latter  raised  his  gun 
with  a  menacing  look  ;  but  Washington  rode  into  the 


1759-63.]  AQUATIC   RECREATIONS.  321 

stream,  seized  the  painter  of  the  canoe,  drew  it  to 
shore,  sprang  from  his  horse,  wrested  the  gun  from  the 
hands  of  the  astonished  delinquent,  and  inflicted  on 
him  a  lesson  in  "  Lynch  law "  that  effectually  cured 
him  of  all  inclination  to  trespass  again  on  these  forbid- 
den shores. 

The  Potomac,  in  the  palmy  days  of  Virginia,  was 
occasionally  the  scene  of  a  little  aquatic  state  and 
ostentation  among  the  rich  planters  who  resided  on  its 
banks.  They  had  beautiful  barges,  which,  like  their 
land  equipages,  were  imported  from  England;  and 
mention  is  made  of  a  Mr.  Digges,  who  always  received 
Washington  in  his  barge,  rowed  by  six  negroes,  arrayed 
in  a  kind  of  uniform  of  check  shirts  and  black  velvet 
caps.  At  one  time,  according  to  notes  in  Washington's 
diary,  the  whole  neighborhood  is  thrown  into  a  par- 
oxysm of  festivity,  by  the  anchoring  of  a  British  frigate 
(the  Boston)  in  the  river,  just  in  front  of  the  hospitable 
mansion  of  the  Fairfaxes.  A  succession  of  dinners 
and  breakfasts  takes  place  at  Mount  Vernon  and  Bel- 
voir,  with  occasional  tea  parties  on  board  of  the  frigate. 
The  commander,  Sir  Thomas  Adams,  his  officers,  and 
his  midshipmen,  are  cherished  guests,  and  have  the 
freedom  of  both  establishments. 

Occasionally  he  and  Mrs.  Washington  would  pay 
a  visit  to  Annapolis,  at  that  time  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  Maryland,  and  partake  of  the  gayeties  which 
prevailed  during  the  session  of  the  legislature.  The 
society  of  these  seats  of  provincial  governments  was 
always  polite  and  fashionable,  and  more  exclusive  than 
in  these  republican  days,  being,  in  a  manner,  the  out- 
posts of  the  English  aristocracy,  where  all  places  of 
vcl.  l— 21 


322  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1759-63. 

dignity  or  profit  were  secured  for  younger  sons,  and 
poor,  but  proud  relatives.  During  the  session  of  the 
Legislature,  dinners  and  balls  abounded,  and  there 
were  occasional  attempts  at  theatricals.  The  latter 
was  an  amusement  for  which  "Washington  always  had  a 
relish,  though  he  never  had  an  opportunity  of  gratify- 
ing it  effectually.  Neither  was  he  disinclined  to  mingle 
in  the  dance,  and  we  remember  to  have  heard  venera- 
ble ladies,  who  had  been  belles  in  his  day,  pride  them- 
selves on  having  had  him  for  a  partner,  though,  they 
added,  he  was  apt  to  be  a  ceremonious  and  grave  one.* 
In  this  round  of  rural  occupation,  rural  amuse- 
ments, and  social  intercourse,  Washington  passed  several 
tranquil  years,  the  halcyon  season  of  his  life.  His 
already  established  reputation  drew  many  visitors  to 
Mount  Vernon  ;  some  of  his  early  companions  in  arms 
were  his  occasional  guests,  and  his  friendships  and  con- 
nections linked  him  with  some  of  the  most  prominent 
and  worthy  people  of  the  country,  who  were  sure  to  be 
received  with  cordial,  but  simple  and  unpretending  hos- 
pitality. His  marriage  was  unblessed  with  children ; 
but  those  of  Mrs.  Washington  experienced  from  him 
parental  care  and  affection,  and  the  formation  of  their 
minds  and  manners  was  one  of  the  dearest  objects  of  his 


*  We  hare  had  an  amusing  picture  of  Annapolis,  as  it  was  at  this  pe- 
riod, furnished  to  us  some  years  since  by  an  octogenarian,  who  had  resided 
there  in  his  boyhood.  "  In  those  parts  of  the  country,"  said  he,  "  where 
the  roads  were  too  rough  for  carriages,  the  ladies  used  to  ride  on  ponies, 
followed  by  black  servants  on  horseback ;  in  this  way  his  mother,  then  ad- 
vanced in  life,  used  to  travel,  in  a  scarlet  cloth  riding  habit,  which  she 
had  procured  from  England.  Nay,  in  this  way,  on  emergencies,"  he  added, 
"  the  young  ladies  from  the  country  used  to  come  to  the  balls  at  Annapolis, 
riding  with  their  hoops  arranged  '  fore  and  aft '  like  lateen  sails ;  and  after 
dancing  all  night,  would  ride  home  again  in  the  morning." 


1759-63.J  DISMAL    SWAMP.  323 

attention.  His  domestic  concerns  and  social  enjoy- 
ments, however,  were  not  permitted  to  interfere  with  his 
public  duties.  He  was  active  by  nature,  and  eminently 
a  man  of  business  by  habit.  As  judge  of  the  county 
court,  and  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  he  had 
numerous  calls  upon  his  time  and  thoughts,  and  was 
often  drawn  from  home  ;  for  whatever  trust  he  under- 
took, he  was  sure  to  fulfil  with  scrupulous  exactness. 

About  this  time  we  find  him  engaged,  with  other 
men  of  enterprise,  in  a  project  to  drain  the  great  Dis- 
mal Swamp,  and  render  it  capable  of  cultivation.  This 
vast  morass  was  about  thirty  miles  long,  and  ten  miles 
wide,  and  its  interior  but  little  known.  With  his  usual 
zeal  and  hardihood  he  explored  it  on  horseback  and  on 
foot.  In  many  parts  it  was  covered  with  dark  and 
gloomy  woods  of  cedar,  cypress,  and  hemlock,  or  de- 
ciduous trees,  the  branches  of  which  were  hung  with 
long  drooping  moss.  Other  parts  were  almost  inacces- 
sible, from  the  density  of  brakes  and  thickets,  en- 
tangled with  vines,  briers,  and  creeping  plants,  and 
intersected  by  creeks  and  standing  pools.  Occasionally 
the  soil,  composed  of  dead  vegetable  fibre,  was  over  his 
horse's  fetlocks,  and  sometimes  he  had  to  dismount  and 
make  his  way  on  foot  over  a  quaking  bog  that  shook 
beneath  his  tread. 

In  the  centre  of  the  morass  he  came  to  a  great 
piece  of  water,  six  miles  long,  and  three  broad,  called 
Drummond's  Pond,  but  more  poetically  celebrated  as 
the  Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp.  It  was  more  elevated 
than  any  other  part  of  the  swamp,  and  capable  of  feed- 
ing canals,  by  which  the  whole  might  be  traversed. 
Having  made  the  circuit  of  it,  and  noted  all  its  charac- 


324  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1759-63. 

teristics,  lie  encamped  for  the  night  upon  the  firm  land 
which  bordered  it,  and  finished  his  explorations  on  the 
following  day. 

In  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Virginia  Legislature, 
the  association  in  behalf  of  which  he  had  acted,  was 
chartered  under  the  name  of  the  Dismal  Swamp  Com- 
pany ;  and  to  his  observations  and  forecast  may  be 
traced  the  subsequent  improvement  and  prosperity  of 
that  once  desolate  region. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

teeatt  of  peace — pontiao's  was' — couese  of  public  events — boaed 
of  teade  against  papee  cubeenoy — eesteictive  policy  of  eng- 
land— navigation  laws — discontents  in  new  england — of  the 
otheb  colonies — peojeots  to  eaise  eevenite  by  taxation — 
blow  at  the  independence  of  the  judioiaey — naval  oom- 
mandees  employed  as  custom-house  officees — eetaliation  of 
the  colonists — taxation  eesisted  in  boston — passing  of  the 
stamp  act — buest  of  opposition  in  vieglnia — speech  of  pa- 
teioe:  heney. 

Tidings  of  peace  gladdened  the  colonies  in  the  spring 
of  1763.  The  definitive  treaty  between  England  and 
Prance  had  been  signed  at  Fontainebleau.  Now,  it  was 
trusted,  there  would  be  an  end  to  those  horrid  ravages 
that  had  desolated  the  interior  of  the  country.  "  The 
desert  and  the  silent  place  would  rejoice,  and  the  wil- 
derness would  blossom  like  the  rose." 

The  month  of  May  proved  the  fallacy  of  such 
hopes.  In  that  month  the  famous  insurrection  of  the 
Indian  tribes  broke  out,  which,  from  the  name  of  the 
chief  who  was  its  prime  mover  and  master  spirit,  is 
commonly  called  Pontiac's  war.  The  Delawares  and 
Shawnees,  and  other  of  those  emigrant  tribes  of  the 
Ohio,  among  whom  Washington  had  mingled,  were 


326  LIFE    OP   WASHINGTON.  [1763. 

foremost  in  this  conspiracy.  Some  of  the  chiefs  who  had 
been  his  allies,  had  now  taken  up  the  hatchet  against 
the  English.  The  plot  was  deep  laid,  and  conducted 
with  Indian  craft  aiid  secrecy.  At  a  concerted  time, 
an  attack  was  made  upon  all  the  posts  from  Detroit  to 
Fort  Pitt  (late  Fort  Duquesne).  Several  of  the  small 
stockaded  forts,  the  places  of  refuge  of  woodland  neigh- 
borhoods, were  surprised  and  sacked  with  remorseless 
butchery.  The  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
and  Virginia,  were  laid  waste ;  traders  in  the  wilder- 
ness were  plundered  and  slain ;  hamlets  and  farm- 
houses were  wrapped  in  flames,  and  their  inhabitants 
massacred.  Shingis,  with  his  Delaware  warriors, 
blockaded  Fort  Pitt,  which,  for  some  time,  was  in  im- 
minent danger.  Detroit,  also,  came  near  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  savages.  It  needed  all  the  influence 
of  Sir  William  Johnson,  that  potentate  in  savage  life, 
to  keep  the  Six  Nations  from  joining  this  formidable 
conspiracy;  had  they  done  so,  the  triumph  of  the 
tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  would  have  been  com- 
plete ;  as  it  was,  a  considerable  time  elapsed  before  the 
frontier  was  restored  to  tolerable  tranquillity. 

Fortunately,  Washington's  retirement  from  the 
army  prevented  his  being  entangled  in  this  savage  war, 
which  raged  throughout  the  regions  he  had  repeatedly 
visited ;  or  rather  his  active  spirit  had  been  diverted 
into  a  more  peaceful  channel,  for  he  was  at  this  time 
occupied  in  the  enterprise  just  noticed,  for  draining  the 
great  Dismal  Swamp. 

Public  events  were  now  taking  a  tendency  which, 
without  any  political  aspiration  or  forethought  of  his 
own,  was  destined  gradually  to  bear  him  away  from  his 


1763.]         RESTRICTIVE    POLICY    OF   ENGLAND.  327 

quiet  home  and  individual  pursuits,  and  launch  him 
upon  a  grander  and  wider  sphere  of  action  than  any  in 
which  he  had  hitherto  been  engaged. 

The  prediction  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes  was  in  the 
process  of  fulfilment.  The  recent  war  of  Great  Britain 
for  dominion  in  America,  though  crowned  with  success, 
had  engendered  a  progeny  of  discontents  in  her  colo- 
nies. Washington  was  among  the  first  to  perceive  its 
bitter  fruits.  British  merchants  had  complained  loudly 
of  losses  sustained  by  the  depreciation  of  the  colonial 
paper,  issued  during  the  late  war,  in  times  of  emergen- 
cy, and  had  addressed  a  memorial  on  the  subject  to  the 
Board  of  Trade.  Scarce  was  peace  concluded,  when 
an  order  from  the  board  declared  that  no  paper,  issued 
by  colonial  Assemblies,  should  thenceforward  be  a  legal 
tender  in  the  payment  of  debts.  Washington  depre- 
cated this  "  stir  of  the  merchants  "  as  peculiarly  ill-timed ; 
and  expressed  an  apprehension  that  the  orders  in  ques- 
tion "would  set  the  whole  country  in  flames." 

We  do  not  profess,  in  this  personal  memoir,  to  en- 
ter into  a  wide  scope  of  general  history,  but  shall  con- 
tent ourselves  with  a  glance  at  the  circumstances  and 
events  which  gradually  kindled  the  conflagration  thus 
apprehended  by  the  anxious  mind  of  Washington. 

Whatever  might  be  the  natural  affection  of  the  col- 
onies for  the  mother  country, — and  there  are  abundant 
evidences  to  prove  that  it  was  deep-rooted  and  strong, 
— it  had  never  been  properly  reciprocated.  They 
yearned  to  be  considered  as  children ;  they  were  treat- 
ed by  her  as  changelings.  Burke  testifies  that  her 
policy  toward  them  from  the  beginning  had  been  pure- 


328  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1763. 

ly  commercial,  and  her  commercial  policy  wholly  re- 
strictive.    "  It  was  the  system  of  a  monopoly." 

Her  navigation  laws  had  shut  their  ports  against 
foreign  vessels ;  obliged  them  to  export  their  produc- 
tions only  to  countries  belonging  to  the  British  crown  • 
to  import  European  goods  solely  from  England,  and  in 
English  ships;  and  had  subjected  the  trade  between 
the  colonies  to  duties.  All  manufactures,  too,  in  the 
colonies,  that  might  interfere  with  those  of  the  mother 
country,  had  been  either  totally  prohibited,  or  subject- 
ed to  intolerable  restraints. 

The  acts  of  Parliament,  imposing  these  prohibitions 
and  restrictions,  had  at  various  times  produced  sore 
discontent  and  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  colonies, 
especially  among  those  of  New  England.  The  inter- 
ests of  these  last  were  chiefly  commercial,  and  among 
them  the  republican  spirit  predominated.  They  had 
sprung  into  existence  during  that  part  of  the  reign  of 
James  I.  when  disputes  ran  high  about  kingly  preroga- 
tive and  popular  privilege. 

The  Pilgrims,  as  they  styled  themselves,  who  found- 
ed Plymouth  colony  in  1620,  had  been  incensed  while 
in  England  by  what  they  stigmatized  as  the  oppressions 
of  the  monarchy,  and  the  established  church.  They 
had  sought  the  wilds  of  America  for  the  indulgence  of 
freedom  of  opinion,  and  had  brought  with  them  the 
spirit  of  independence  and  self-government.  Those 
who  followed  them  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  were  im- 
bued with  the  same  spirit,  and  gave  a  lasting  character 
to  the  people  of  New  England. 

Other  colonies,  having  been  formed  under  other  cir- 
cumstances, might  be  inclined  toward  a  monarchical 


1763.J  REVENUE   BY    TAXATION.  329 

government,  and  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  its  exactions ; 
but  the  republican  spirit  was  ever  alive  in  New  Eng- 
land, watching  over  "  natural  and  chartered  rights," 
and  prompt  to  defend  them  against  any  infringement. 
Its  example  and  instigation  had  gradually  an  effect  on 
the  other  colonies;  a  general  impatience  was  evinced 
from  time  to  time  of  parliamentary  interference  in  colo- 
nial affairs,  and  a  disposition  in  the  various  provincial 
Legislatures  to  think  and  act  for  themselves  in  matters 
of  civil  and  religious,  as  well  as  commercial  polity. 

There  was  nothing,  however,  to  which  the  jealous 
sensibilities  of  the  colonies  were  more  alive,  than  any 
attempt  of  the  mother  country  to  draw  a  revenue  from 
them  by  taxation.  From  the  earliest  period  of  their 
existence,  they  had  maintained  the  principle  that  they 
could  only  be  taxed  by  a  Legislature  in  which  they 
were  represented.  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  when  at  the 
head  of  the  British  government,  was  aware  of  their 
jealous  sensibility  on  this  point,  and  cautious  of  pro- 
voking it.  When  American  taxation  was  suggested, 
"  it  must  be  a  bolder  man  than  himself,"  he  replied, 
"  and  one  less  friendly  to  commerce,  who  should  ven- 
ture on  such  an  expedient.  Tor  his  part,  he  would  en- 
courage the  trade  of  the  colonies  to  the  utmost;  one 
half  of  the  profits  would  be  sure  to  come  into  the  royal 
exchequer  through  the  increased  demand  for  British 
manufactures.  This,"  said  he,  sagaciously,  "  is  taxing 
them  more  agreeably  to  their  own  constitution  and  laws!* 

Subsequent  ministers  adopted  a  widely  different 
policy.  During  the  progress  of  the  French  war,  vari- 
ous projects  were  discussed  in  England  with  regard  to 
the  colonies,  which  were  to  be  carried  into  effect  on  the 


330  LIFE    OP   WASHINGTON.  [1763> 

return  of  peace.  The  open  avowal  of  some  of  these 
plans,  and  vague  rumors  of  others,  more  than  ever  irri- 
tated the  jealous  feelings  of  the  colonists,  and  put  the 
dragon  spirit  of  New  England  on  the  alert. 

In  1760,  there  was  an  attempt  in  Boston  to  collect 
duties  on  foreign  sugar  and  molasses  imported  into  the 
colonies.  Writs  of  assistance  were  applied  for  by  the 
custom-house  officers,  authorizing  them  to  break  open 
ships,  stores,  and  private  dwellings,  in  quest  of  articles 
that  had  paid  no  duty ;  and  to  call  the  assistance  of  oth- 
ers in  the  discharge  of  their  odious  task.  The  mer- 
chants opposed  the  execution  of  the  writ  on  constitu- 
tional grounds.  The  question  was  argued  in  court, 
where  James  Otis  spoke  so  eloquently  in  vindication  of 
American  rights,  that  all  his  hearers  went  away  ready 
to  take  arms  against  writs  of  assistance.  "  Then  and 
there,"  says  John  Adams,  who  was  present,  "  was  the 
first  scene  of  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  claims  of  Great 
Britain.  Then  and  there  American  Independence  was 
born." 

Another  ministerial  measure  was  to  instruct  the 
provincial  governors  to  commission  judges.  Not  as 
theretofore  "  during  good  behavior,"  but  "  during  the 
king's  pleasure."  New  York  was  the  first  to  resent 
this  blow  at  the  independence  of  the  judiciary.  The 
lawyers  appealed  to  the  public  through  the  press, 
against  an  act  which  subjected  the  halls  of  justice  to 
the  prerogative.  Their  appeals  were  felt  beyond  the 
bounds  of  the  province,  and  awakened  a  general  spirit 
of  resistance. 

Thus  matters  stood  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war. 
One  of  the  first  measures  of  ministers,  on  the  return 


1763.]  PAPER    CHAINS    ON    THE    COLONIES.  331 

of  peace,  was  to  enjoin  on  all  naval  officers  stationed 
on  the  coast  of  the  American  colonies  the  performance, 
under  oath,  of  the  duties  of  custom-house  officers,  for 
the  suppression  of  smuggling.  This  fell  ruinously 
upon  a  clandestine  trade  which  had  long  been  connived 
at  between  the  English  and  Spanish  colonies,  profitable 
to  both,  but  especially  to  the  former,  and  beneficial  to 
the  mother  country,  opening  a  market  to  her  manufac- 
tures. 

"  Men-of-war,"  says  Burke,  "  were  for  the  first 
time  armed  with  the  regular  commissions  of  custom- 
house officers,  invested  the  coasts,  and  gave  the  col- 
lection of  revenue  the  air  of  hostile  contribution. 
#  *  #  #  They  fell  so  indiscriminately  on  all  sorts 
of  contraband,  or  supposed  contraband,  that  some  of 
the  most  valuable  branches  of  trade  were  driven  vio- 
lently from  our  ports,  which  caused  an  universal  con- 
sternation throughout  the  colonies."  * 

As  a  measure  of  retaliation,  the  colonists  resolved 
not  to  purchase  British  fabrics,  but  to  clothe  themselves 
as  much  as  possible  in  home  manufactures.  The  de- 
mand for  British  goods  in  Boston  alone  was  diminished 
upwards  of  £10,000  sterling  in  the  course  of  a  year. 

In  1764,  George  Grenville,  now  at  the  head  of 
government,  ventured  upon  the  policy  from  which  Wal- 
pole  had  so  wisely  abstained.  Early  in  March  the 
eventful  question  was  debated,  "  whether  they  had  a 
right  to  tax  America."  It  was  decided  in  the  affirma- 
tive. Next  followed  a  resolution,  declaring  it  proper  to 
charge  certain  stamp  duties  in  the  colonies  and  planta- 

*  Burke  on  the  state  of  the  nation. 


332  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1763. 

tions,  but  no  immediate  step  was  taken  to  carry  it  into 
effect.  Mr.  Grenville,  however,  gave  notice  to  the 
American  agents  in  London,  that  he  should  introduce 
such  a  measure  on  the  ensuing  session  of  Parliament. 
In  the  mean  time,  Parliament  perpetuated  certain  du- 
ties on  sugar  and  molasses — heretofore  subjects  of 
complaint  and  opposition — now  reduced  and  modified 
so  as  to  discourage  smuggling,  and  thereby  to  render 
them  more  productive.  Duties,  also,  were  imposed  on 
other  articles  of  foreign  produce  or  manufacture  im- 
ported into  the  colonies.  To  reconcile  the  latter  to 
these  impositions,  it  was  stated  that  the  revenue  thus 
raised  was  to  be  appropriated  to  their  protection  and 
security  ;  in  other  words,  to  the  support  of  a  standing 
army,  intended  to  be  quartered  upon  them. 

We  have  here  briefly  stated  but  a  part  of  what 
Burke  terms  an  "  infinite  variety  of  paper  chains,"  ex- 
tending through  no  less  than  twenty-nine  acts  of  Par- 
liament, from  1660  to  1764,  by  which  the  colonies  had 
been  held  in  thraldom. 

The  New  Englanders  were  the  first  to  take  the  field 
against  the  project  of  taxation.  They  denounced  it  as 
a  violation  of  their  rights  as  freemen ;  of  their  char- 
tered rights,  by  which  they  were  to  tax  themselves  for 
their  support  and  defence ;  of  their  rights  as  British 
subjects,  who  ought  not  to  be  taxed  but  by  themselves 
or  their  representatives.  They  sent  petitions  and  re- 
monstrances on  the  subject  to  the  king,  the  lords,  and 
the  commons,  in  which  they  were  seconded  by  New 
York  and  Virginia.  Pranklin  appeared  in  London  at 
the  head  of  agents  from  Pennsylvania,  Connecticut  and 
South  Carolina,  to  deprecate,  in  person,  measures  so 


1765.]  STAMP    ACT.  333 

fraught  with  mischief.  The  most  eloquent  arguments 
were  used  by  British  orators  and  statesmen  to  dissuade 
Grenville  from  enforcing  them.  .  He  was  warned  of  the 
sturdy  independence  of  the  colonists,  and  the  spirit  of 
resistance  he  might  provoke.  All  was  in  vain.  Gren- 
ville, "  great  in  daring  and  little  in  views,"  says  Horace 
Walpole,  "  was  charmed  to  have  an  untrodden  field 
before  him  of  calculation  and  experiment."  In  March, 
1765,  the  act  was  passed,  according  to  which  all  instru- 
ments in  writing  were  to  be  executed  on  stamped  pa- 
per, to  be  purchased  from  the  agents  of  the  British 
government.  What  was  more :  all  offences  against  the 
act  could  be  tried  in  any  royal,  marine,  or  admiralty 
court  throughout  the  colonies,  however  distant  from  the 
place  where  the  offence  had  been  committed ;  thus 
interfering  with  that  most  inestimable  right,  a  trial  by 

iury- 

It  was  an  ominous  sign  that  the  first  burst  of  op- 
position to  this  act  should  take  place  in  Virginia.  That 
colony  had  hitherto  been  slow  to  accord  with  the  re- 
publican spirit  of  New  England.  Pounded  at  an 
earlier  period  of  the  reign  of  James  I.,  before  kingly 
prerogative  and  ecclesiastical  supremacy  had  been  made 
matters  of  doubt  and  fierce  dispute,  it  had  grown  up 
in  loyal  attachment  to  king,  church,  and  constitution ; 
was  aristocratical  in  its  tastes  and  habits,  and  had  been 
remarked  above  all  the  other  colonies  for  its  sympathies 
with  the  mother  country:  Moreover,  it  had  not  so 
many  pecuniary  interests  involved  in  these  questions  as 
had  the  people  of  New  England,  being  an  agricultural 
rather  than  a  commercial  province;  but  the  Virginians 
are  of  a  quick  and  generous  spirit,  readily  aroused  on 


334  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1765 

all  points  of  honorable  pride,  and  they  resented  the 
stamp  act  as  an  outrage  on  their  rights. 

Washington  occupied  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, when,  on  the  29th  of  May,  the  stamp  act  be- 
came a  subject  of  discussion.  We  have  seen  no  previ- 
ous opinions  of  his  on  the  subject.  His  correspondence 
hitherto  had  not  turned  on  political  or  speculative 
themes ;  being  engrossed  by  either  military  or  agricul- 
tural matters,  and  evincing  little  anticipation  of  the 
vortex  of  public  duties  into  which  he  was  about  to  be 
drawn.  All  his  previous  conduct  and  writings  show  a 
loyal  devotion  to  the  crown,  with  a  patriotic  attachment 
to  his  country.  It  is  probable  that  on  the  present  oc- 
casion that  latent  patriotism  received  its  first  electric 
shock. 

Among  the  Burgesses  sat  Patrick  Henry,  a  young 
lawyer,  who  had  recently  distinguished  himself  by 
pleading  against  the  exercise  of  the  royal  prerogative 
in  church  matters,  and  who  was  now  for  the  first  time 
a  member  of  the  House.  Rising  in  his  place,  he  intro- 
duced his  celebrated  resolutions,  declaring  that  the 
General  Assembly  of  Virginia  had  the  exclusive  right 
and  power  to  lay  taxes  and  impositions  upon  the  in- 
habitants, and  that  whoever  maintained  the  contrary 
should  be  deemed  an  enemy  to  the  colony. 

The  speaker,  Mr.  Robinson,  objected  to  the  resolu- 
tions, as  inflammatory.  Henry  vindicated  them,  as 
justified  by  the  nature  of  the  case ;  went  into  an  able 
and  constitutional  discussion  of  colonial  rights,  and  an 
eloquent  exposition  of  the  manner  in  which  they  had 
been  assailed ;  wound  up  by  one  of  those  daring  flights 
of   declamation  for  which  he  was  remarkable,   and 


1765.]  SPEECH    OF    PATRICK   HENRY.  335 

startled  the  House  by  a  warning  flash  from  history : 
"  Caesar  had  his  Brutus ;  Charles  his  Cromwell •  and 
George  the  Third — ('  Treason!  treason!'  resounded 
from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Chair) — may  profit  by 
their  examples,"  added  Henry.  "  Sir,  if  this  be  trea- 
son (bowing  to  the  speaker),  make  the  most  of  it ! " 

The  resolutions  were  modified,  to  accommodate 
them  to  the  scruples  of  the  speaker  and  some  of  the 
members,  but  their  spirit  was  retained.  The  Lieu- 
tenant-governor (Fauquier),  startled  by  this  patriotic 
outbreak,  dissolved  the  Assembly,  and  issued  writs  for 
a  new  election ;  but  the  clarion  had  sounded.  "  The 
resolves  of  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,"  says  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  ministry,  "  gave  the  signal  for  a  gen- 
eral outcry  over  the  continent.  The  movers  and  sup- 
porters of  them  were  applauded  as  the  protectors  and 
assertors  of  American  liberty."  * 

*  Letter  to  Secretary  Conway,  New  York,  Sept.  23.— Parliamentary 
Register, 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 


THE  COLONIES — PORTENTOUS  CEREMONIES  AT  BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
— NON-IMPOETATION  AGREEMENT  AMONG  THE  MERCHANTS — WASHING- 
TON AND  GEORGE  MASON — DISMISSAL  OF  GRENVILLE  FROM  THE  BRITISH 

CABINET FRANKLIN    BEFORE    THE    HOUSE   OF   COMMONS — REPEAL  OF 

THE  STAMP  ACT — JOY  OF  WASHINGTON — FRESH  CAUSES  OF  COLONIAL 
DISSENSIONS — CIRCULAR  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURT   OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

EMBARKATION  OF    TROOPS   FOR    BOSTON — MEASURES    OF    THE    BOS- 

TONIANS. 

Washington  returned  to  Mount  Vernon  full  of  anxious 
thoughts  inspired  by  the  political  events  of  the  day, 
and  the  legislative  scene  which  he  witnessed.  His 
recent  letters  had  spoken  of  the  state  of  peaceful  tran- 
quillity in  which  he  was  living;  those  now  written 
from  his  rural  home  show  that  he  fully  participated  in 
the  popular  feeling,  and  that  while  he  had  a  presenti- 
ment of  an  arduous  struggle,  his  patriotic  mind  was 
revolving  means  of  coping  with  it.  Such  is  the  tenor 
of  a  letter  written  to  his  wife's  uncle,  Francis  Dan- 
dridge,  then  in  London.  "  The  stamp  act,"  said  he, 
"engrosses  the  conversation  of  the  speculative  part  of 
the  colonists,  who  look  upon  this  unconstitutional 
method  of  taxation  as  a  direful  attack  upon  their  liber- 


1765.J  OPPOSITION    TO   THE    STAMP    ACT.  337 

ties,  and  loudly  exclaim  against  the  violation.  What 
may  be  the  result  of  this,  and  of  some  other  (I  think  I 
may  add  ill-judged)  measures,  I  will  not  undertake  to 
determine;  but  this  I  may  venture  to  affirm,  that  the 
advantage  accruing  to  the  mother  country,  will  fall 
greatly  short  of  the  expectation  of  the  ministry;  for 
certain  it  is,  that  our  whole  substance  already  in  a 
manner  flows  to  Great  Britain,  and  that  whatsoever  con- 
tributes to  lessen  our  importations  must  be  hurtful  to 
her  manufactures.  The  eyes  of  our  people  already 
begin  to  be  opened ;  and  they  will  perceive  that  many 
luxuries,  for  which  we  lavish  our  substance  in  Great 
Britain,  can  well  be  dispensed  with.  This,  conse- 
quently, will  introduce  frugality,  and  be  a  necessary 
incitement  to  industry.  ******  As  to 
the  stamp  act,  regarded  in  a  single  view,  one  of  the 
first  bad  consequences  attending  it,  is,  that  our  courts 
of  judicature  must  inevitably  be  shut  up ;  for  it  is  im- 
possible, or  next  to  impossible,  under  our  present  cir- 
cumstances, that  the  act  of  Parliament  can  be  com- 
plied with,  were  we  ever  so  willing  to  enforce  its  exe- 
cution. And  not  to  say  (which  alone  would  be  suffi- 
cient) that  we  have  not  money  enough  to  pay  for  the 
stamps,  there  are  many  other  cogent  reasons  which 
prove  that  it  would  be  ineffectual." 

A  letter  of  the  same  date  to  his  agents  in  London, 
of  ample  length  and  minute  in  all  its  details,  shows 
that,  while  deeply  interested  in  the  course  of  public 
affairs,  his  practical  mind  was  enabled  thoroughly  and 
ably  to  manage  the  financial  concerns  of  his  estate  and 
of  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Washington's  son,  John  Parke 
Custis,  towards  whom  he  acted  the  part  of  a  faithful 

vol.  i.— 22 


338  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1765. 

and  affectionate  guardian.  In  those  days,  Virginia 
planters  were  still  in  direct  and  frequent  correspond- 
ence with  their  London  factors ;  and  Washington's  let- 
ters respecting  his  shipments  of  tobacco,  and  the  re- 
turns required  in  various  articles  for  household  and 
personal  use,  are  perfect  models  for  a  man  of  business. 
And  this  may  be  remarked  throughout  his  whole  career, 
that  no  pressure  of  events  nor  multiplicity  of  cares 
prevented  a  clear,  steadfast  undercut  rent  of  attention 
to  domestic  affairs,  and  the  interest  and  well-being  of 
all  dependent  upon  him. 

In  the  mean  time,  from  his  quiet  abode  at  Mount 
Vernon,  he  seemed  to  hear  the  patriotic  voice  of  Pa- 
trick Henry,  which  had  startled  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
echoing  throughout  the  land,  and  rousing  one  legis- 
lative body  after  another  to  follow  the  example  of  that 
of  Virginia.  At  the  instigation  of  the  General  Court 
or  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  a  Congress  was  held  in 
New  York  in  October,  composed  of  delegates  from 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and 
South  Carolina.  In  this  they  denounced  the  acts  of 
Parliament  imposing  taxes  on  them  without  their  con- 
sent, and  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of 
admiralty,  as  violations  of  their  rights  and  liberties  as 
natural  born  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and  prepared  an 
address  to  the  king,  and  a  petition  to  both  Houses  of 
Parliament,  praying  for  redress.  Similar  petitions  were 
forwarded  to  England  by  the  colonies  not  represented 
in  the  Congress. 

The  very  preparations  for  enforcing  the  stamp  act 
called  forth  popular  tumults  in  various  places.    In  Bos- 


1765.]  POPULAR   AGITATION.  339 

ton  the  stamp  distributor  was  hanged  in  effigy;  his 
windows  were  broken  ;  a  house  intended  for  a  stamp 
office  was  pulled  down,  and  the  effigy  burnt  in  a  bon- 
fire made  of  the  fragments.  The  lieutenant-governor, 
chief  justice,  and  sheriff,  attempting  to  allay  the 
tumult,  were  pelted.  The  stamp  officer  thought  him- 
self happy  to  be  hanged  merely  in  effigy,  and  next  day 
publicly  renounced  the  perilous  office. 

Various  were  the  proceedings  in  other  places,  all 
manifesting  public  scorn  and  defiance  of  the  act.  In 
Virginia,  Mr.  George  Mercer  had  been  appointed  dis- 
tributor of  stamps,  but  on  his  arrival  at  Williamsburg 
publicly  declined  officiating.  It  was  a  fresh  triumph 
to  the  popular  cause.  The  bells  were  rung  for  joy ; 
the  town  was  illuminated,  and  Mercer  was  hailed  with 
acclamations  of  the  people.* 

The  1st  of  November,  the  day  when  the  act  was 
to  go  into  operation,  was  ushered  in  with  portentous 
solemnities.  There  was  great  tolling  of  bells  and 
burning  of  effigies  in  the  New  England  colonies.  At 
Boston  the  ships  displayed  their  colors  but  half-mast 
high.  Many  shops  were  shut ;  funeral  knells  resound- 
ed from  the  steeples,  and  there  was  a  grand  auto-da-fe, 
in  which  the  promoters  of  the  act  were  paraded,  and 
suffered  martyrdom  in  effigy. 

At  New  York  the  printed  act  was  carried  about 
the  streets  on  a  pole,  surmounted  by  a  death's  head, 
with  a  scroll  bearing  the  inscription,  "  The  folly  of  Eng- 
land and  ruin  of  America."  Colden,  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  who  acquired  considerable  odium  by  recom- 

*  Holmes's  Annals,  vol.  ii.,  p.  138. 


340  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1765. 

mending  to  government  the  taxation  of  the  colonies, 
the  institution  of  hereditary  Assemblies,  and  other 
tory  measures,  seeing  that  a  popular  storm  was  rising, 
retired  into  the  fort,  taking  with  him  the  stamp  papers, 
and  garrisoned  it  with  marines  from  a  ship  of  war. 
The  mob  broke  into  his  stable ;  drew  out  his  chariot ; 
put  his  effigy  into  it ;  paraded  it  through  the  streets  to 
the  common  (now  the  Park),  where  they  hung  it  on  a 
gallows.  In  the  evening  it  was  taken  down,  put  again 
into  the  chariot,  with  the  devil  for  a  companion,  and 
escorted  back  by  torchlight  to  the  Bowling  Green; 
where  the  whole  pageant,  chariot  and  all,  was  burnt 
under  the  very  guns  of  the  fort. 

These  are  specimens  of  the  marks  of  popular  repro- 
bation with  which  the  stamp  act  was  universally  nulli- 
fied. No  one  would  venture  to  carry  it  into  execution. 
In  fact,  no  stamped  paper  was  to  be  seen;  all  had 
been  either  destroyed  or  concealed.  All  transactions 
which  required  stamps  to  give  them  validity  were  sus- 
pended, or  were  executed  by  private  compact.  The 
courts  of  justice  were  closed,  until  at  length  some  con- 
ducted their  business  without  stamps.  Union  was  be- 
coming the  watch-word.  The  merchants  of  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and  such  other  colonies  as 
had  ventured  publicly  to  oppose  the  stamp  act,  agreed 
to  import  no  more  British  manufactures  after  the  1st 
of  January  unless  it  should  be  repealed.  So  passed 
away  the  year  1765. 

As  yet  Washington  took  no  prominent  part  in  the 
public  agitation.  Indeed  he  was  never  disposed  to  put 
himself  forward  on  popular  occasions,  his  innate  mod- 
esty forbade  it ;  it  was  others  who  knew  his  worth  that 


1765.]  FRANKLIN    BEFORE   THE    COMMONS.  341 

called  him  forth ;  but  when  once  he  engaged  in  any 
public  measure,  he  devoted  himself  to  it  with  con- 
scientiousness and  persevering  zeal.  At  present  he 
remained  a  quiet  but  vigilant  observer  of  events  from  his 
eagle  nest  at  Mount  Vernon.  He  had  some  few  inti- 
mates in  his  neighborhood  who  accorded  with  him  in 
sentiment.  One  of  the.  ablest  and  most  efficient  of 
these  was  Mr.  George  Mason,  with  whom  he  had  occa- 
sional conversations  on  the  state  of  affairs.  His  friends 
the  Fairfaxes,  though  liberal  in  feelings  and  opinions, 
were  too  strong  in  their  devotion  to  the  crown  not  to 
regard  with  an  uneasy  eye  the  tendency  of  the  popular 
bias.  From  one  motive  or  other,  the  earnest  attention 
of  all  the  inmates  and  visitors  at  Mount  Vernon  was 
turned  to  England,  watching  the  movements  of  the 
ministry. 

The  dismissal  of  Mr.  Grenville  from  the  cabinet 
gave  a  temporary  change  to  public  affairs.  Perhaps 
nothing  had  a  greater  effect  in  favor  of  the  colonies 
than  an  examination  of  Dr.  Franklin  before  the  House 
of  Commons,  on  the  subject  of  the  stamp  act. 

"What,"  he  was  asked,  "was  the  temper  of  Amer- 
ica towards  Great  Britain,  before  the  year  1763  ?  " 

"  The  best  in  the  world.  They  submitted  willingly 
to  the  government  of  the  crown,  and  paid,  in  all  their 
courts,  obedience  to  the  acts  of  Parliament.  Numerous 
as  the  people  are  in  the  several  old  provinces,  they  cost 
you  nothing  in  forts,  citadels,  garrisons,  or  armies,  to 
keep  them  in  subjection.  They  were  governed  by  this 
country  at  the  expense  only  of  a  little  pen,  ink,  and 
paper.  They  were  led  by  a  thread.  They  had  not 
only  a  respect,  but  an  affection  for  Great  Britain,  for 


342  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1766. 

its  laws,  its  customs,  and  manners,  and  even  a  fondness 
for  its  fashions,  that  greatly  increased  the  commerce. 
Natives  of  Great  Britain  were  always  treated  with  par- 
ticular regard;  to  be  an  Old-England  man  was,  of 
itself,  a  character  of  some  respect,  and  gave  a  kind  of 
rank  among  us." 

"  And  what  is  their  temper  now?  " 

"  Oh !  very  much  altered." 

"  If  the  act  is  not  repealed,  what  do  you  think  will 
be  the  consequences  ?  " 

"  A  total  loss  of  the  respect  and  affection  the  people 
of  America  bear  to  this  country,  and  of  all  the  com- 
merce that  depends  on  that  respect  and  affection." 

"  Do  you  think  the  people  of  America  would  sub- 
mit to  pay  the  stamp  duty  if  it  was  moderated  ?  " 

"  No,  never,  unless  compelled  by  force  of  arms."* 

The  act  was  repealed  on  the  18th  of  March,  1766, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  sincere  friends  of  both  coun- 
tries, and  to  no  one  more  than  to  Washington.  In  one 
of  his  letters  he  observes :  "  Had  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain  resolved  upon  enforcing  it,  the  conse- 
quences, I  conceive,  would  have  been  more  direful 
than  is  generally  apprehended,  both  to  the  mother 
country  and  her  colonies.  All,  therefore,  who  were 
instrumental  in  procuring  the  repeal,  are  entitled  to  the 
thanks  of  every  British  subject,  and  have  mine  cor- 
dially."! 

Still,  there  was  a  fatal  clause  in  the  repeal,  which 
declared  that  the  king,  with  the  consent  of  Parliament, 
had  power  and  authority  to  make  laws  and  statutes  of 

*  Parliamentary  Register,  1766. 

f  Sparks.   Writings  of  Washington,  ii.,  345,  note. 


1766.]  THE   MUTINY   ACT.  343 

sufficient  force  and  validity  to  "  bind  the  colonies,  and 
people  of  America,  in  all  cases  whatsoever." 

As  the  people  of  America  were  contending  for  prin- 
ciples, not  mere  pecuniary  interests,  this  reserved  power 
of  the  crown  and  Parliament  left  the  dispute  still  open, 
and  chilled  the  feeling  of  gratitude  which  the  repeal 
might  otherwise  have  inspired.  Further  aliment  for 
public  discontent  was  furnished  by  other  acts  of  Par- 
liament. One  imposed  duties  on  glass,  pasteboard, 
white  and  red  lead,  painters'  colors,  and  tea ;  the  du- 
ties to  be  collected  on  the  arrival  of  the  articles  in  the 
colonies ;  another  empowered  naval  officers  to  enforce 
the  acts  of  trade  and  navigation.  Another  wounded 
to  the  quick  the  pride  and  sensibilities  of  New  York. 
The  mutiny  act  had  recently  been  extended  to  Amer- 
ica, with  an  additional  clause,  requiring  the  provincial 
Assemblies  to  provide  the  troops  sent  out  with  quar- 
ters, and  to  furnish  them  with  fire,  beds,  candles,  and 
other  necessaries,  at  the  expense  of  the  colonies.  The 
Governor  and  Assembly  of  New  York  refused  to  com- 
ply with  this  requisition  as  to  stationary  forces,  insist- 
ing that  it  applied  only  to  troops  on  a  march.  An  act 
of  Parliament  now  suspended  the  powers  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Assembly  until  they  should  comply.  Chat- 
ham attributed  this  opposition  of  the  colonists  to  the 
mutiny  act  to  "their  jealousy  of  being  somehow  or 
other  taxed  internally  by  the  Parliament;  the  act," 
said  he,  "asserting  the  right  of  Parliament,  has  cer- 
tainly spread  a  most  unfortunate  jealousy  and  diffi- 
dence of  government  here  throughout  America,  and 
makes  them  jealous  of  the  least  distinction  between 


344  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1766 

this  country  and  that,  lest  the  same  principle  may  be 
extended  to  taxing  them."  * 

Boston  continued  to  be  the  focus  of  what  the  min- 
isterialists termed  sedition.  The  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts,  not  content  with  petitioning  the  king 
for  relief  against  the  recent  measures  of  Parliament, 
especially  those  imposing  taxes  as  a  means  of  revenue, 
drew  up  a  circular,  calling  on  the  other  colonial 
Legislatures  to  join  with  them  in  suitable  efforts  to  ob- 
tain redress.  In  the  ensuing  session,  Governor  Sir 
Francis  Bernard  called  upon  them  to  rescind  the  reso- 
lution on  which  the  circular  was  founded, — they  refused 
to  comply,  and  the  General  Court  was  consequently 
dissolved.  The  governors  of  other  colonies  required 
of  their  Legislatures  an  assurance  that  they  would  not 
reply  to  the  Massachusetts  circular,' — these  Legislatures 
likewise  refused  compliance,  and  were  dissolved.  All 
this  added  to  the  growing  excitement. 

Memorials  were  addressed  to  the  lords,  spiritual 
and  temporal,  and  remonstrances  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, against  taxation  for  revenue,  as  destructive  to 
the  liberties  of  the  colonists ;  and  against  the  act  sus- 
pending the  legislative  power  of  the  province  of  New 
York,  as  menacing  the  welfare  of  the  colonies  in 
general. 

Nothing,  however,  produced  a  more  powerful  effect 
upon  the  public  sensibilities  throughout  the* country, 
than  certain  military  demonstrations  at  Boston.  In 
consequence  of  repeated  collisions  between  the  people 
of  that  place  and  the  commissioners  of  customs,  two 

*  Chatham's  Correspondence,  vol.  iii.,  p.  189-192. 


1766.!  CONVENTION    AT   BOSTON.  345 


regiments  were  held  in  readiness  at  Halifax  to  embark 
for  Boston  in  the  ships  of  Commodore  Hood  whenever 
Governor  Bernard,  or  the  general,  should  give  the 
word.  "Had  this  force  been  landed  in  Boston  six 
months  ago,"  writes  the  commodore,  "  I  am  perfectly 
persuaded  no  address  or  remonstrances  would  have 
been  sent  from  the  other  colonies,  and  that  all  would 
have  been  tolerably  quiet  and  orderly  at  this  time 
throughout  America."  * 

Tidings  reached  Boston  that  these  troops  were  em- 
barked, and  that  they  were  coming  to  overawe  the 
people.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  General  Court 
had  been  dissolved,  and  the  governor  refused  to  con- 
vene it  without  the  royal  command.  A  convention 
therefore,  from  various  towns,  met  at  Boston,  on  the 
22d  of  September,  to  devise  measures  for  the  public 
safety;  but  disclaiming  all  pretensions  to  legislative 
powers.  While  the  convention  was  yet  in  session 
(September  28th),  the  two  regiments  arrived,  with 
seven  armed  vessels.  "  I  am  very  confident,"  writes 
Commodore  Hood  from  Halifax,  "  the  spirited  measures 
now  pursuing  will  soon  effect  order  in  America." 

On  the  contrary,  these  "  spirited  measures  "  added 
fuel  to  the  fire  they  were  intended  to  quench.  It  was 
resolved  in  a  town  meeting  that  the  king  had  no  right 
to  send  troops  thither  without  the  consent  of  the  As- 
sembly; that  Great  Britain  had  broken  the  original 
compact,  and  that,  therefore,  the  king's  officers  had  no 
longer  any  business  there. f 

The  "  selectmen  "  accordingly  refused  to  find  quar- 

*  Grenville  Papers,  vol.  iv.,  p.  362. 

f  Whately  to  Grenville.     Gren.  Papers,  vol.  iv.,  p.  389. 


346  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1766 

ters  for  the  soldiers  in  the  town ;  the  council  refused  to 
find  barracks  for  them,  lest  it  should  be  construed  into 
a  compliance  with  the  disputed  clause  of  the  mutiny 
act.  Some  of  the  troops,  therefore,  which  had  tents, 
were  encamped  on  the  Common ;  others,  by  the  gov- 
ernor's orders,  were  quartered  in  the  state-house,  and 
others  in  Paneuil  Hall,  to  the  great  indignation  of  the 
public,  who  were  grievously  scandalized  at  seeing  field- 
pieces  planted  in  front  of  the  state-house;  sentinels 
stationed  at  the  doors,  challenging  every  one  who 
passed ;  and,  above  all,  at  having  the  sacred  quiet  of 
the  Sabbath  disturbed  by  drum  and  fife,  and  other 
nilitary  music. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

CHEERFUL  LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VERNON — WASHINGTON  AND  GEOEGE  MASON — 
CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  THE  NON-IMPORTATION  AGREEMENT — 
FEELING  TOWARD  ENGLAND — OPENING  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  SESSION — 
SEMI-REGAL  STATE  OF  LORD  BOTETOURT — HIGH-TONED  PROCEEDINGS 
OF  THE  HOUSE — SYMPATHY  WITH  NEW  ENGLAND — DISSOLVED  BY  LORD 
BOTETOURT — WASHINGTON  AND  THE  ARTICLES  OF  ASSOCIATION. 

Throughout  these  public  agitations,  Washington  en- 
deavored to  preserve  his  equanimity.  Removed  from 
the  heated  throngs  of  cities,  his  diary  denotes  a  cheer- 
ful and  healthful  life  at  Mount  Vernon,  devoted  to 
those  rural  occupations  in  which  he  delighted,  and 
varied  occasionally  by  his  favorite  field  sports.  Some- 
times he  is  duck-shooting  on  the  Potomac.  Repeatedly 
we  find  note  of  his  being  out  at  sunrise  with  the 
hounds,  in  company  with  ©Id  Lord  Fairfax,  Bryan 
Fairfax,  and  others ;  and  ending  the  day's  sport  by  a 
dinner  at  Mount  Vernon,  or  Belvoir. 

Still  he  was  too  true  a  patriot  not  to  sympathize  in 
the  struggle  for  colonial  rights  which  now  agitated  the 
whole  country,  and  we  find  him  gradually  carried  more 
and  more  into  the  current  of  political  affairs. 

A  letter  written  on  the  5th  of  April,  1769,  to  his 


348  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1769. 

friend,  George  Mason,  shows  the  important  stand  he 
was  disposed  to  take.  In  the  previous  year,  the  mer- 
chants and  traders  of  Boston,  Salem,  Connecticut,  and 
New  York,  had  agreed  to  suspend  for  a  time  the  im- 
portation of  all  articles  subject  to  taxation.  Similar 
resolutions  had  recently  been  adopted  by  the  merchants 
of  Philadelphia.  Washington's  letter  is  emphatic  in 
support  of  the  measure.  "At  a  time,"  writes  he, 
"  when  our  lordly  masters  in  Great  Britain  will  be  sat- 
isfied with  nothing  less  than  the  deprivation  of  Ameri- 
can freedom,  it  seems  highly  necessary  that  something 
should  be  done  to  avert  the  stroke,  and  maintain  the 
liberty  which  we  have  derived  from  our  ancestors.  But 
the  manner  of  doing  it,  to  answer  the  purpose  effectu- 
ally, is  the  point  in  question.  That  no  man  should 
scruple,  or  hesitate  a  moment  in  defence  of  so  valuable 
a  blessing,  is  clearly  my  opinion ;  yet  arms  should  be 
the  last  resource — the  dernier  ressort.  We  have  already, 
it  is  said,  proved  the  inefficacy  of  addresses  to  the 
throne,  and  remonstrances  to  Parliament.  How  far 
their  attention  to  our  rights  and  interests  is  to  be 
awakened,  or  alarmed,  by  starving  their  trade  and 
manufactures,  remains  to  be  tried. 

"  The  northern  colonies,  it  appears,  are  endeavoring 
to  adopt  this  scheme.  In  my  opinion,  it  is  a  good  one, 
and  must  be  attended  with  salutary  effects,  provided  it 
can  be  carried  pretty  generally  into  execution.  *  * 
*  That  there  will  be  a  difficulty  attending  it  every 
where  from  clashing  interests,  and  selfish,  designing 
men,  ever  attentive  to  their  own  gain,  and  watchful  of 
every  turn  that  can  assist  their  lucrative  views,  cannot 
be  denied ;  and  in  the  tobacco  colonies  where  the  trade 


1769.]  NON-IMPORTATION    PROJECT.  349 

is  so  diffused,  and  in  a  manner  wholly  conducted  by 
factors  for  their  principals  at  home,  these  difficulties  are 
certainly  enhanced,  but  I  think  not  insurmountably 
increased,  if  the  gentlemen  in  their  several  counties 
will  be  at  some  pains  to  explain  matters  to  the  people, 
and  stimulate  them  to  cordial  agreements  to  purchase 
none  but  certain  enumerated  articles  out  of  any  of  the 
stores,  after  a  definite  period,  and  neither  import,  nor 
purchase  any  themselves.  *  *  *  I  can  see  but 
one  class  of  people,  the  merchants  excepted,  who  will 
not,  or  ought  not,  to  wish  well  to  the  scheme, — namely, 
they  who  live  genteelly  and  hospitably  on  clear  estates. 
Such  as  these,  were  they  not  to  consider  the  valuable 
object  in  view,  and  the  good  of  others,  might  think  it 
hard  to  be  curtailed  in  their  living  and  enjoyments." 

This  was  precisely  the  class  to  which  Washington 
belonged ;  but  he  was  ready  and  willing  to  make  the 
sacrifices  required.  "  I  think  the  scheme  a  good  one," 
added  he,  "  and  that  it  ought  to  be  tried  here,  with 
such  alterations  as  our  circumstances  render  absolutely 
necessary." 

Mason,  in  his  reply,  concurred  with  him  in  opinion. 
"Our  all  is  at  stake,"  said  he,  "and  the  little  conve- 
niences and  comforts  of  life,  when  set  in  competition  with 
our  liberty,  ought  to  be  rejected,  not  with  reluctance, 
but  with  pleasure.  Yet  it  is  plain  that,  in  the  tobacco 
colonies,  we  cannot  at  present  confine  our  importations 
within  such  narrow  bounds  as  the  northern  colonies. 
A  plan  of  this  kind,  to  be  practicable,  must  be  adapted 
to  our  circumstances;  for,  if  not  steadily  executed,  it 
had  better  have  remained  unattempted.  We  may  re- 
trench all  manner  of  superfluities,  finery  of  all  descrip- 


350  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1769. 

tions,  and  confine  ourselves  to  linens,  woollens,  &c.,  not 
exceeding  a  certain  price.  It  is  amazing  how  much 
this  practice,  if  adopted  in  all  the  colonies,  would  lessen 
the  American  imports,  and  distress  the  various  trades 
and  manufactures  of  Great  Britain.  This  would  awa- 
ken their  attention.  They  would  see,  they  would  feel, 
the  oppressions  we  groan  under,  and  exert  themselves 
to  procure  us  redress.  This  once  obtained,  we  should 
no  longer  discontinue  our  importations,  confining  our- 
selves still  not  to  import  any  article  that  should  here- 
after be  taxed  by  act  of  Parliament  for  raising  a  reve- 
nue in  America ;  for,  however  singular  I  may  be  in  the 
opinion,  I  am  thoroughly  convinced,  that,  justice  and 
harmony  happily  restored,  it  is  not  the  interest  of  these 
colonies  to  refuse  British  manufactures.  Our  supplying 
our  mother  country  with  gross  materials,  and  taking  her 
manufactures  in  return,  is  the  true  chain  of  connection 
between  us.  These  are  the  bands  which,  if  not  broken 
by  oppression,  must  long  hold  us  together,  by  maintain- 
ing a  constant  reciprocation  of  interests!' 

The  latter  part  of  the  above  quotation  shows  the 
spirit  which  actuated  Washington  and  the  friends  of 
his  confidence;  as  yet  there  was  no  thought  nor  de- 
sire of  alienation  from  the  mother  country,  but  only  a 
fixed  determination  to  be  placed  on  an  equality  of 
rights  and  privileges  with  her  other  children. 

A  single  word  in  the  passage  cited  from  Washing- 
ton's letter,  evinces  the  chord  which  still  vibrated  in 
the  American  bosom :  he  incidentally  speaks  of  Eng- 
land as  home.  It  was  the  familiar  term  with  which  she 
was  usually  indicated  by  those  of  English  descent ;  and 
the  writer  of  these  pages  remembers  when  the  endear- 


1769.]  LORD   BOTETOURT.  351 

ing  phrase  still  lingered  on  Anglo-American  lips  even 
after  the  Revolution.  How  easy  would  it  have  been 
before  that  era  for  the  mother  country  to  have  rallied 
back  the  affections  of  her  colonial  children,  by  a  proper 
attention  to  their  complaints.  They  asked  for  nothing 
but  what  they  were  entitled  to,  and  what  she  had  taught 
them  to  prize  as  their  dearest  inheritance.  The  spirit 
of  liberty  which  they  manifested  had  been  derived  from 
her  own  precept  and  example. 

The  result  of  the  correspondence  between  Wash- 
ington and  Mason  was  the  draft  by  the  latter  of  a  plan 
of  association,  the  members  of  which  were  to  pledge 
themselves  not  to  import  or  use  any  articles  of  British 
merchandise  or  manufacture  subject  to  duty.  This 
paper  Washington  was  to  submit  to  the  consideration 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  at  the  approaching  session 
in  the  month  of  May. 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  opened  on  this  occasion 
with  a  brilliant  pageant.  While  military  force  was 
arrayed  to  overawe  the  republican  Puritans  of  the  east, 
it  was  thought  to  dazzle  the  aristocratical  descendants 
of  the  Cavaliers  by  the  reflex  of  regal  splendor.  Lord 
Botetourt,  one  of  the  king's  lords  of  the  bed-chamber, 
had  recently  come  out  as  governor  of  the  province. 
Junius  described  him  as  "  a  cringing,  bowing,  fawning, 
sword-bearing  courtier."  Horace  Walpole  predicted 
that  he  would  turn  the  heads  of  the  Virginians  in  one 
way  or  other.  "  If  his  graces  do  not  captivate  them, 
he  will  enrage  them  to  fury ;  for  I  take  all  his  douceur 
to  be  enamelled  on  iron."*    The  words  of  political 

*  Grenville  papers,  iv.,  note  to  p.  830. 


352  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1769. 

satirists  and  court  wits,  however,  are  always  to  be  taken 
with  great  distrust.  However  his  lordship  may  have 
bowed  in  presence  of  royalty,  he  elsewhere  conducted 
himself  with  dignity,  and  won  general  favor  by  his  en- 
dearing manners.  He  certainly  showed  promptness  of 
spirit  in  his  reply  to  the  king  on  being  informed  of  his 
appointment.  "When  will  you  be  ready  to  go?" 
asked  George  III.     "To-night,  sir." 

He  had  come  out,  however,  with  a  wrong  idea  of 
the  Americans.  They  had  been  represented  to  him  as 
factious,  immoral,  and  prone  to  sedition ;  but  vain  and 
luxurious,  and  easily  captivated  by  parade  and  splen 
dor.  The  latter  foibles  were  aimed  at  in  his  appoint- 
ment and  fitting  out.  It  was  supposed  that  his  titled 
rank  would  have  its  effect.  Then,  to  prepare  him  for 
occasions  of  ceremony,  a  coach  of  state  was  presented 
,o  him  by  the  king.  He  was  allowed,  moreover,  the 
quantity  of  plate  usually  given  to  ambassadors,  where- 
upon the  joke  was  circulated  that  he  was  going  "  pleni- 
po  to  the  Cherokees."  * 

His  opening  of  the  session  was  in  the  style  of  the 
royal  opening  of  Parliament.  He  proceeded  in  due 
parade  from  his  dwelling  to  the  capitol,  in  his  state 
coach,  drawn  by  six  milk-white  horses.  Having  deliv- 
ered his  speech  according  to  royal  form,  he  returned 
home  with  the  same  pomp  and  circumstance. 

The  time  had  gone  by,  however,  for  such  display  to 
have  the  anticipated  effect.  The  Virginian  legislators 
penetrated  the  intention  of  this  pompous  ceremonial, 
and  regarded  it  with  a  depreciating  smile.     Sterner 

•  Whately  to  Geo.  Grenville.     Grenville  papers. 


1769.J  ADDRESS   TO   THE   KING.  353 

matters  occupied  their  thoughts ;  they  had  come  pre- 
pared to  battle  for  their  rights,  and  their  proceedings 
soon  showed  Lord  Botetourt  how  much  he  had  mistaken 
them.  Spirited  resolutions  were  passed,  denouncing 
the  recent  act  of  Parliament  imposing  taxes ;  the  power 
to  do  which,  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony,  "was 
legally  and  constitutionally  vested  in  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, with  consent  of  the  council  and  of  the  king  or 
of  his  governor,  for  the  time  being."  Copies  of  these 
resolutions  were  ordered  to  be  forwarded  by  the  speak- 
er to  the  Legislatures  of  the  other  colonies,  with  a 
request  for  their  concurrence. 

Other  proceedings  of  the  Burgesses  showed  their 
sympathy  with  their  fellow-patriots  of  New  England. 
A  joint  address  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament  had 
recently  been  made  to  the  king,  assuring  him  of  their 
support  in  any  further  measures  for  the  due  execution 
of  the  laws  in  Massachusetts,  and  beseeching  him  that 
all  persons  charged  with  treason,  or  misprision  of  trea- 
son, committed  within  that  colony  since  the  30th  of 
December,  1767,  might  be  sent  to  Great  Britain  for 
trial. 

As  Massachusetts  had  no  General  Assembly  at  this 
time,  having  been  dissolved  by  government,  the  Legis- 
lature of  Virginia  generously  took  up  the  cause.  An 
address  to  the  king  was  resolved  on,  stating,  that  all 
trials  for  treason,  or  misprision  of  treason,  or  for  any 
crime  whatever,  committed  by  any  person  residing  in  a 
colony,  ought  to  be  in  and  before  his  majesty's  courts 
within  said  colony  5  and  beseeching  the  king  to  avert 
from  his  loyal  subjects  those  dangers  and  miseries 
which  would  ensue  from  seizing  and  carrying  beyond 
vol.  l— 23 


354  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1769. 

sea  any  person  residing  in  America  suspected  of  any 
crime  whatever,  thereby  depriving  them  of  the  inesti- 
mable privilege  of  being  tried  by  a  jury  from  the  vici- 
nage, as  well  as  the  liberty  of  producing  witnesses  on 
such  trial. 

Disdaining  any  further  application  to  Parliament, 
the  House  ordered  the  speaker  to  transmit  this  address 
to  the  colonies'  agent  in  England,  with  directions  to 
cause  it  to  be  presented  to  the  king,  and  afterwards  to 
be  printed  and  published  in  the  English  papers. 

Lord  Botetourt  was  astonished  and  dismayed  when 
he  heard  of  these  high-toned  proceedings.  Repairing 
to  the  capitol  on  the  following  day  at  noon,  he  sum- 
moned the  speaker  and  members  to  the  council  cham- 
ber, and  addressed  them  in  the  following  words :  "  Mr. 
Speaker,  and  gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  I 
have  heard  of  your  resolves,  and  augur  ill  of  their 
effects.  You  have  made  it  my  duty  to  dissolve  you, 
and  you  are  dissolved  accordingly." 

The  spirit  conjured  up  by  the  late  decrees  of  Par- 
liament was  not  so  easily  allayed.  The  Burgesses  ad- 
journed to  a  private  house.  Peyton  Randolph,  their 
late  speaker,  was  elected  moderator.  Washington  now 
brought  forward  a  draft  of  the  articles  of  association, 
concerted  between  him  and  George  Mason.  They 
formed  the  groundwork  of  an  instrument  signed  by  all 
present,  pledging  themselves  neither  to  import,  nor  use 
any  goods,  merchandise,  or  manufactures  taxed  by  Par- 
liament to  raise  a  revenue  in  America.  This  instru- 
ment was  sent  throughout  the  country  for  signature, 
and  the  scheme  of  non-importation,  hitherto  confined 
to   a    few  northern    colonies,  was    soon    universally 


1769.]  LORD    BOTETOURT   UNDECEIVED.  355 

adopted.  For  his  own  part,  Washington  adhered  to  it 
rigorously  throughout  the  year.  The  articles  proscribed 
by  it  were  never  to  be  seen  in  his  house,  and  his  agent 
in  London  was  enjoined  to  ship  nothing  for  him  while 
subject  to  taxation. 

The  popular  ferment  in  Virginia  was  gradually 
allayed  by  the  amiable  and  conciliatory  conduct  of 
Lord  Botetourt.  His  lordship  soon  became  aware  of 
the  erroneous  notions  with  which  he  had  entered  upon 
office.  His  semi-royal  equipage  and  state  were  laid 
aside.  He  examined  into  public  grievances  ;  became  a 
strenuous  advocate  for  the  repeal  of  taxes ;  and,  author- 
ized by  his  despatches  from  the  ministry,  assured  the 
public  that  such  repeal  would  speedily  take  place.  His 
assurance  was  received  with  implicit  faith,  and  for  a 
while  Virginia  was  quieted. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

HOOD  AT  BOSTON — THE  GENERAL  COURT  REFUSES  TO  DO  BUSINESS  UNDER 
MILITARY  SWAY — RESISTS  THE  BILLETING  ACT — EFFECT  OF  THE  NON- 
IMPORTATION ASSOCIATION — LORD  NORTH  PREMIER — DUTIES  REVOKED 
EXCEPT  ON  TEA — THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE — DISUSE  OF  TEA — CONCILIA- 
TORY CONDUCT  OF  LORD  BOTETOURT — HI8  DEATH. 

"  The  worst  is  past,  and  the  spirit  of  sedition  broken," 
writes  Hood  to  Grenville,  early  in  the  spring  of  1769.* 
When  the  commodore  wrote  this,  his  ships  were  in  the 
harbor,  and  troops  occupied  the  town,  and  he  nattered 
himself  that  at  length  turbulent  Boston  was  quelled. 
But  it  only  awaited  its  time  to  be  seditious  according 
to  rule ;  there  was  always  an  irresistible  "  method  in  its 
madness/' 

In  the  month  of  May,  the  General  Court,  hitherto 
prorogued,  met  according  to  charter.  A  committee 
immediately  waited  on  the  governor,  stating  it  was  im- 
possible to  do  business  with  dignity  and  freedom  while 
the  town  was  invested  by  sea  and  land,  and  a  military 
guard  was  stationed  at  the  state-house,  with  cannon 
pointed  at  the  door ;  and  they  requested  the  governor, 
as  his  majesty's  representative,  to  have  such  forces  re- 

*  Grenville  Papers,  vol.  iii. 


1770.J  THE   ASSEMBLY   PROROGUED.  357 

moved  out  of  the  port  and  gates  of  the  city  during  the 
session  of  the  Assembly. 

The  governor  replied  that  he  had  no  authority  over 
either  the  ships  or  troops.  The  Court  persisted  in 
refusing  to  transact  business  while  so  circumstanced, 
and  the  governor  was  obliged  to  transfer  the  session  to 
Cambridge.  There  he  addressed  a  message  to  that 
body  in  July,  requiring  funds  for  the  payment  of  the 
troops,  and  quarters  for  their  accommodation.  The 
Assembly,  after  ample  discussion  of  past  grievances, 
resolved,  that  the  establishment  of  a  standing  army  in 
the  colony  in  a  time  of  peace  was  an  invasion  of  natu- 
ral rights ;  that  a  standing  army  was  not  known  as  a 
part  of  the  British  constitution,  and  that  the  sending 
an  armed  force  to  aid  the  civil  authority  was  unprece- 
dented, and  highly  dangerous  to  the  people. 

After  waiting  some  days  without  receiving  an  an- 
swer to  his  message,  the  governor  sent  to  know  whether 
the  Assembly  would,  or  would  not,  make  provision  for 
the  troops.  In  their  reply,  they  followed  the  example 
of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  in  commenting  on  the 
mutiny,  or  billeting  act,  and  ended  by  declining  to  fur- 
nish funds  for  the  purposes  specified,  "  being  incompati- 
ble with  their  own  honor  and  interest,  and  their  duty  to 
their  constituents."  They  were  in  consequence  again 
prorogued,  to  meet  in  Boston  on  the  10th  of  January. 

So  stood  affairs  in  Massachusetts.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  non-importation  associations,  being  generally 
observed  throughout  the  colonies,  produced  the  effect 
on  British  commerce  which  Washington  had  anticipa- 
ted, and  Parliament  was  incessantly  importuned  by 


358  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1770. 

petitions  from  British  merchants,  imploring  its  inter- 
vention  to  save  them  from  ruin. 

Early  in  1770,  an  important  change  took  place  in 
the  British  cabinet.  The  Duke  of  Grafton  suddenly 
resigned,  and  the  reins  of  government  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Lord  North.  He  was  a  man  of  limited  ca- 
pacity, but  a  favorite  of  the  king,  and  subservient  to 
his  narrow  colonial  policy.  His  administration,  so 
eventful  to  America,  commenced  with  an  error.  In 
the  month  of  March,  an  act  was  passed,  revoking  all 
the  duties  laid  in  1767,  excepting  that  on  tea.  This 
single  tax  was  continued,  as  he  observed,  "  to  maintain 
the  parliamentary  right  of  taxation," — the  very  right 
which  was  the  grand  object  of  the  contest.  In  this, 
however,  he  was  in  fact  yielding,  against  his  better 
judgment,  to  the  stubborn  tenacity  of  the  king. 

He  endeavored  to  reconcile  the  opposition,  and  per- 
haps himself,  to  the  measure,  by  plausible  reasoning. 
An  impost  of  threepence  on  the  pound  could  never,  he 
alleged,  be  opposed  by  the  colonists,  unless  they  were 
determined  to  rebel  against  Great  Britain.  Besides,  a 
duty  on  that  article,  payable  in  England,  and  amount- 
ing to  nearly  one  shilling  on  the  pound,  was  taken  off 
on  its  exportation  to  America,  so  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  colonies  saved  ninepence  on  the  pound. 

Here  was  the  stumbling-block  at  the  threshold  of 
Lord  North's  administration.  In  vain  the  members  of 
the  opposition  urged  that  this  single  exception,  while  it 
would  produce  no  revenue,  would  keep  alive  the  whole 
cause  of  contention;  that  so  long  as  a  single  external 
duty  was  enforced,  the  colonies  would  consider  their 
rights  invaded,  and  would  remain  unappeased.    Lord 


1770.J  THE   BOSTON    MASSACRE.  359 

North  was  not  to  be  convinced ;  or  rather,  he  knew  the 
royal  will  was  inflexible,  and  he  complied  with  its  be- 
hests. "The  properest  time  to  exert  our  right  of  taxa- 
tion,,,  said  he,  "  is  when  the  right  is  refused.  To  tem- 
porize is  to  yield;  and  the  authority  of  the  mother 
country,  if  it  is  now  unsupported,  will  be  relinquished 
for  ever :  a  total  repeal  cannot  be  thought  of,  till  Amer- 
ica is  prostrate  at  our  feet."  * 

On  the  very  day  in  which  this  ominous  bill  was 
passed  in  Parliament,  a  sinister  occurrence  took  place 
in  Boston.  Some  of  the  young  men  of  the  place  in- 
sulted the  military  while  under  arms ;  the  latter  resent- 
ed it;  the  young  men,  after  a  scuffle,  were  put  to 
flight,  and  pursued.  The  alarm  bells  rang, — a  mob 
assembled;  the  custom-house  was  threatened;  the 
troops,  in  protecting  it,  were  assailed  with  clubs  and 
stones,  and  obliged  to  use  their  fire-arms,  before  the 
tumult  could  be  quelled.  Pour  of  the  populace  were 
killed,  and  several  wounded.  The  troops  were  now 
removed  from  the  town,  which  remained  in  the  highest 
state  of  exasperation;  and  this  untoward  occurrence 
received  the  opprobrious,  and  somewhat  extravagant 
name  of  "  the  Boston  massacre." 

The  colonists,  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  resumed 
the  consumption  of  those  articles  on  which  the  duties 
had  been  repealed;  but  continued,  on  principle,  the 
rigorous  disuse  of  tea,  excepting  such  as  had  been 
smuggled  in.  New  England  was  particularly  earnest 
in  the  matter ;  many  of  the  inhabitants,  in  the  spirit 
of  their  Puritan  progenitors,  made  a  covenant  to  drink 

*  Holmes's  Airer.  Annals,  vol.  ii,  p.  173. 


360  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1770. 

no  more  of  the  forbidden  beverage,  until  the  duty  on 
tea  should  be  repealed. 

In  Virginia  the  public  discontents,  which  had  been 
allayed  by  the  conciliatory  conduct  of  Lord  Botetourt, 
and  by  his  assurances,  made  on  the  strength  of  letters 
received  from  the  ministry,  that  the  grievances  com- 
plained of  would  be  speedily  redressed,  now  broke  out 
with  more  violence  than  ever.  The  Virginians  spurned 
the  mock-remedy  which  left  the  real  cause  of  complaint 
untouched.  His  lordship  also  felt  deeply  wounded  by 
the  disingenuousness  of  ministers  which  had  led  him 
into  such  a  predicament,  and  wrote  home  demanding 
his  discharge.  Before  it  arrived,  an  attack  of  bilious 
fever,  acting  upon  a  delicate  and  sensitive  frame,  en- 
feebled by  anxiety  and  chagrin,  laid  him  in  his  grave. 
He  left  behind  him  a  name  endeared  to  the  Virginians 
by  his  amiable  manners,  his  liberal  patronage  of  the 
arts,  and,  above  all,  by  his  zealous  intercession  for  their 
rights.  Washington  himself  testifies  that  he  was  in- 
clined "  to  render  every  just  and  reasonable  service  to 
the  people  whom  he  governed."  A  statue  to  his  mem- 
ory was  decreed  by  the  House  of  Burgesses,  to  be 
erected  in  the  area  of  the  capitol.  It  is  still  to  be 
seen,  though  in  a  mutilated  condition,  in  Williams- 
burg, the  old  seat  of  government,  and  a  county  in 
Virginia  continues  to  bear  his  honored  name. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

EXPEDITION  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  THE  OHIO,  IN  BEHALF  OF  SOLDIERS* 
CLAIMS — UNEASY  STATE  OF  THE  FRONTIER — VISIT  TO  FOET  PITT — 
GEOEGE  OEOGHAN — HIS  MISHAPS  DURING  PONTIAO's  WAR — WASHING- 
TON DESCENDS  THE  OHIO — SCENES  AND  ADVENTURES  ALONG  THE  RrVEE 
— INDIAN  HUNTING  CAMP — INTERVIEW  WITH  AN  OLD  SACHEM  AT  THE 
MOUTH  OF  THE  iKANAWHA — RETURN — CLAIMS  OF  STOBO  AND  VAN 
BRAAM — LETTER  TO  COLONEL  GEORGE  MUSE. 

In  the  midst  of  these  popular  turmoils,  Washington 
was  induced,  by  public  as  well  as  private  considera- 
tions, to  make  another  expedition  to  the  Ohio.  He 
was  one  of  the  Virginia  Board  of  Commissioners,  ap- 
pointed, at  the  close  of  the  late  war,  to  settle  the  mili- 
tary accounts  of  the  colony.  Among  the  claims  which 
came  before  the  board,  were  those  of  the  officers  and 
soldiers  who  had  engaged  to  serve  until  peace,  under 
the  proclamation  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  holding  forth 
a  bounty  of  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  to  be 
apportioned  among  them  according  to  rank.  Those 
claims  were  yet  unsatisfied,  for  governments,  like  indi- 
viduals, are  slow  to  pay  off  in  peaceful  times  the  debts 
incurred  while  in  the  fighting  mood.  Washington  be- 
came the  champion  of  those  claims,  and  an  opportunity 
now  presented  itself  for  their  liquidation.  The  Six 
Nations,  by  a  treaty  in  1768,  had  ceded  to  the  British 


362  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1770. 

crown,  in  consideration  of  a  sum  of  money,  all  the 
lands  possessed  by  them  south  of  the  Ohio.  Land 
offices  would  soon  be  opened  for  the  sale  of  them. 
Squatters  and  speculators  were  already  preparing  to 
swarm  in,  set  up  their  marks  on  the  choicest  spots,  and 
establish  what  were  called  pre-emption  rights.  Wash- 
ington determined  at  once  to  visit  the  lands  thus 
ceded;  affix  his  mark  on  such  tracts  as  he  should 
select,  and  apply  for  a  grant  from  government  in  be- 
half of  the  "  soldiers'  claim." 

The  expedition  would  be  attended  with  some  de- 
gree of  danger.  The  frontier  was  yet  in  an  uneasy 
state.  It  is  true,  some  time  had  elapsed  since  the 
war  of  Pontiac,  but  some  of  the  Indian  tribes  were 
almost  ready  to  resume  the  hatchet.  The  Delawares, 
Shawnees,  and  Mingoes,  complained  that  the  Six  Na- 
tions had  not  given  them  their  full  share  of  the  consid- 
eration money  of  the  late  sale,  and  they  talked  of 
exacting  the  deficiency  from  the  white  men  who  came 
to  settle  in  what  had  been  their  hunting-grounds. 
Traders,  squatters,  and  other  adventurers  into  the  wil- 
derness, were  occasionally  murdered,  and  further  trou- 
bles were  apprehended. 

Washington  had  for  a  companion  in  this  expedition 
his  friend  and  neighbor,  Dr.  Craik,  and  it  was  with 
strong  community  of  feeling  they  looked  forward  peace- 
ably to  revisit  the  scenes  of  their  military  experience. 
They  set  out  on  the  5th  of  October  with  three  negro 
attendants,  two  belonging  to  Washington,  and  one  to 
the  doctor.  The  whole  party  was  mounted,  and  there 
was  a  led  horse  for  the  baggage. 

After  twelve  days'  travelling  they  arrived  at  Fort 


1770.]  VISIT   TO   FORT   PITT.  363 

Pitt  (late  Fort  Duquesne).  It  was  garrisoned  by  two 
companies  of  royal  Irish,  commanded  by  a  Captain 
Edmonson.  A  hamlet  of  about  twenty  log-houses,  in- 
habited by  Indian  traders,  had  sprung  up  within  three 
hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  and  was  called  "  the  town." 
It  was  the  embryo  city  of  Pittsburg,  now  so  popu- 
lous. At  one  of  the  houses,  a  tolerable  frontier  inn, 
they  took  up  their  quarters;  but  during  their  brief 
sojourn,  they  were  entertained  with  great  hospitality  at 
the  fort. 

Here  at  dinner  Washington  met  his  old  acquaint- 
ance, George  Croghan,  who  had  figured  in  so  many 
capacities  and  experienced  so  many  vicissitudes  on  the 
frontier.  He  was  now  Colonel  Croghan,  deputy-agent 
to  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  had  his  residence — or 
seat,  as  Washington  terms  it — on  the  banks  of  the 
Allegany  River,  about  four  miles  from  the  fort. 

Croghan  had  experienced  troubles  and  dangers 
during  the  Pontiac  war,  both  from  white  man  and  sav- 
age. At  one  time,  while  he  was  convoying  presents 
from  Sir  William  to  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  his 
caravan  was  set  upon  and  plundered  by  a  band  of 
backwoodsmen  of  Pennsylvania — men  resembling  In- 
dians in  garb  and  habits,  and  fully  as  lawless.  At 
another  time,  when  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Wabash  with  some  of  his  Indian  allies,  a  band  of 
Kickapoos,  supposing  the  latter  to  be  Cherokees,  their 
deadly  enemies,  rushed  forth  from  the  woods  with  hor- 
rid yells,  shot  down  several  of  his  companions,  and 
wounded  himself.  It  must  be  added,  that  no  white 
men  could  have  made  more  ample  apologies  than  did 


364  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1770. 

the  Kickapoos,  when  they  discovered  that  they  had 
fired  upon  friends. 

Another  of  Croghan's  perils  was  from  the  redoubt- 
able Pontiac  himself.  That  chieftain  had  heard  of  his 
being  on  a  mission  to  win  off,  by  dint  of  presents,  the 
other  sachems  of  the  conspiracy,  and  declared,  signifi- 
cantly, that  he  had  a  large  kettle  boiling  in  which  he 
intended  to  seethe  the  ambassador.  It  was  fortunate 
for  Croghan  that  he  did  not  meet  with  the  formidable 
chieftain  while  in  this  exasperated  mood.  He  subse- 
quently encountered  him  when  Pontiae's  spirits  were 
broken  by  reverses.  They  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace 
together,  and  the  colonel  claimed  the  credit  of  having, 
by  his  diplomacy,  persuaded  the  sachem  to  bury  the 
hatchet. 

On  the  day  following  the  repast  at  the  fort,  Wash- 
ington visited  Croghan  at  his  abode  on  the  Allegany 
River,  where  he  found  several  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Six 
Nations  assembled.  One  of  them,  the  "White  Mingo  by 
name,  made  him  a  speech,  accompanied,  as  usual,  by  a 
belt  of  wampum.  Some  of  his  companions,  he  said, 
remembered  to  have  seen  him  in  1753,  when  he  came 
on  his  embassy  to  the  French  commander;  most  of 
them  had  heard  of  him.  They  had  now  come  to  wel- 
come him  to  their  country.  They  wished  the  people 
of  Virginia  to  consider  them  as  friends  and  brothers, 
linked  together  in  one  chain,  and  requested  him  to 
mform  the  governor  of  their  desire  to  live  in  peace  and 
harmony  with  the  white  men.  As  to  certain  unhappy 
differences  which  had  taken  place  between  them  on  the 
frontiers,  they  were  all  made  up,  and,  they  hoped,  for- 
gotten. 


1770.]  VOYAGE   DOWN   THE   OHIO.  365 

Washington  accepted  the  "  speech-belt,"  and  made 
a  suitable  reply,  assuring  the  chiefs  that  nothing  was 
more  desired  by  the  people  of  Virginia  than  to  live 
with  them  on  terms  of  the  strictest  friendship. 

At  Pittsburg  the  travellers  left  their  horses,  and 
embarked  in  a  large  canoe,  to  make  a  voyage  down  the 
Ohio  as  far  as  the  Great  Kanawha.  Colonel  Croghan 
engaged  two  Indians  for  their  service,  and  an  inter- 
preter named  John  Nicholson.  The  colonel  and  some 
of  the  officers  of  the  garrison  accompanied  them  as  far 
as  Logstown,  the  scene  of  Washington's  early  diplo- 
macy, and  his  first  interview  with  the  half-king.  Here 
they  breakfasted  together ;  after  which  they  separated, 
the  colonel  and  his  companions  cheering  the  voyagers 
from  the  shore,  as  the  canoe  was  borne  off  by  the  cur- 
rent of  the  beautiful  Ohio. 

It  was  now  the  hunting  season,  when  the  Indians 
leave  their  towns,  set  off  with  their  families,  and  lead  a 
roving  life  in  cabins  and  hunting-camps  along  the 
river ;  shifting  from  place  to  place,  as  game  abounds 
or  decreases,  and  often  extending  their  migrations  two 
or  three  hundred  miles  down  the  stream.  The  women 
were  as  dexterous  as  the  men  in  the  management  of 
the  canoe,  but  were  generally  engaged  in  the  domestic 
labors  of  the  lodge  while  their  husbands  were  abroad 
hunting. 

Washington's  propensities  as  a  sportsman  had  here 
full  play.  Deer  were  continually  to  be  seen  coming 
down  to  the  water's  edge  to  drink,  or  browsing  along 
the  shore ;  there  were  innumerable  flocks  of  wild  tur- 
keys, and  streaming  flights  of  ducks  and  geese;  so 
that  as  the  voyagers  floated  along,  they  were  enabled 


366  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1770, 

to  load  their  canoe  with  game.  At  night  they  en- 
camped on  the  river  bank,  lit  their  fire,  and  made  a 
sumptuous  hunter's  repast.  Washington  always  rel- 
ished this  wild-wood  life;  and  the  present  had  that 
spice  of  danger  in  it,  which  has  a  peculiar  charm  for 
adventurous  minds.  The  great  object  of  his  expedi- 
tion, however,  is  evinced  in  his  constant  notes  on  the 
features  and  character  of  the  country ;  the  quality  of 
the  soil  as  indicated  by  the  nature  of  the  trees,  and 
the  level  tracts  fitted  for  settlements. 

About  seventy-five  miles  below  Pittsburg  the  voy- 
agers landed  at  a  Mingo  town,  which  they  found  in  a 
stir  of  warlike  preparation — sixty  of  the  warriors  being 
about  to  set  off  on  a  foray  into  the  Cherokee  country 
against  the  Catawbas. 

Here  the  voyagers  were  brought  to  a  pause  by  a 
report  that  two  white  men,  traders,  had  been  murdered 
about  thirty-eight  miles  further  down  the  river.  Re- 
ports of  the  kind  were  not  to  be  treated  lightly. 
Indian  faith  was  uncertain  along  the  frontier,  and 
white  men  were  often  shot  down  in  the  wilderness  for 
plunder  or  revenge.  On  the  following  day  the  report 
moderated.  Only  one  man  was  said  to  have  been 
killed,  and  that  not  by  Indians ;  so  Washington  deter- 
mined to  continue  forward  until  he  could  obtain  correct 
information  in  the  matter. 

On  the  24th,  about  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the 
voyagers  arrived  at  Captema  Creek,  at  the  mouth  of 
which  the  trader  was  said  to  have  been  killed.  As  all 
was  quiet  and  no  one  to  be  seen,  they  agreed  to  en- 
camp, while  Nicholson  the  interpreter,  and  one  of  the 
Indians,  repaired  to  a  village  a  few  miles  up  the  creek 


1770.J  kiashuta' s  hunting  camp.  367 

to  inquire  about  the  murder.  They  found  but  two  old 
women  at  the  village.  The  men  were  all  absent,  hunt- 
ing. The  interpreter  returned  to  camp  in  the  evening, 
bringing  the  truth  of  the  murderous  tale.  A  trader 
had  fallen  a  victim  to  his  temerity,  having  been  drowned 
in  attempting,  in  company  with  another,  to  swim  his 
horse  across  the  Ohio. 

Two  days  more  of  voyaging  brought  them  to  an 
Indian  hunting  camp,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mus- 
kingum. Here  it  was  necessary  to  land  and  make  a  cere- 
monious visit,  for  the  chief  of  the  hunting  party  was 
Kiashuta,  a  Seneca  sachem,  the  head  of  the  river  tribes. 
He  was  noted  to  have  been  among  the  first  to  raise  the 
hatchet  in  Pontiac's  conspiracy,  and  almost  equally 
vindictive  with  that  potent  warrior.  As  Washington 
approached  the  chieftain,  he  recognized  him  for  one  of 
the  Indians  who  had  accompanied  him  on  his  mission 
to  the  French  in  1753. 

Kiashuta  retained  a  perfect  recollection  of  the 
youthful  ambassador,  though  seventeen  years  had  ma- 
tured him  into  thoughtful  manhood.  With  hunter's 
hospitality  he  gave  him  a  quarter  of  a  fine  buffalo  just 
slain,  but  insisted  that  they  should  encamp  together 
for  the  night ;  and  in  order  not  to  retard  him,  moved 
with  his  own  party  to  a  good  camping  place  some  dis- 
tance down  the  river.  Here  they  had  long  talks  and 
council-fires  over  night  and  in  the  morning,  with  all 
the  "  tedious  ceremony,"  says  Washington,  "  which  the 
Indians  observe  in  their  councillings  and  speeches/' 
Kiashuta  had  heard  of  what  had  passed  between 
Washington  and  the  "White  Mingo,"  and  other 
sachems,  at  Colonel  Croghan's,  and  was  eager  to  ex- 


368  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1770. 

press  his  own  desire  for  peace  and  friendship  with  Vir- 
ginia, and  fair  dealings  with  her  traders;  all  which 
Washington  promised  to  report  faithfully  to  the  gov- 
ernor. It  was  not  until  a  late  hour  in  the  morning 
that  he  was  enabled  to  bring  these  conferences  to  a 
close,  and  pursue  his  voyage. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  the  voyagers 
encamped  for  a  day  or  two  to  examine  the  lands  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  Washington  set  up  his  mark  upon 
such  as  he  intended  to  claim  on  behalf  of  the  soldiers' 
grant.  It  was  a  fine  sporting  country,  having  small 
lakes  or  grassy  ponds  abounding  with  water-fowl,  such 
as  ducks,  geese,  and  swans.  Flocks  of  turkeys,  as 
usual ;  and,  for  larger  game,  deer  and  buffalo  ;  so  that 
their  camp  abounded  with  provisions. 

Here  Washington  was  visited  by  an  old  sachem, 
who  approached  him  with  great  reverence,  at  the  head 
of  several  of  his  tribe,  and  addressed  him  through 
Nicholson,  the  interpreter.  He  had  heard,  he  said,  of 
his  being  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  had  come 
from  a  great  distance  to  see  him.  On  further  dis- 
course, the  sachem  made  known  that  he  was  one  of 
the  warriors  in  the  service  of  the  French,  who  lay  in 
ambush  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela,  and 
wrought  such  havoc  in  Braddock's  army.  He  de- 
clared that  he  and  his  young  men  had  singled  out 
Washington,  as  he  made  himself  conspicuous  riding 
about  the  field  of  battle  with  the  general's  orders,  and 
had  fired  at  him  repeatedly,  but  without  success ; 
whence  they  had  concluded  that  he  was  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Great  Spirit,  had  a  charmed  life,  and 
could  not  be  slain  in  battle. 


1770.]  HAZARDS   OF   THE   VOYAGE.  369 

At  the  Great  Kanawha  Washington's  expedition 
down  the  Ohio  terminated;  having  visited  all  the 
points  he  wished  to  examine.  His  return  to  Port  Pitt, 
and  thence  homeward,  affords  no  incident  worthy  of 
note.  The  whole  expedition,  however,  was  one  of  that 
hardy  and  adventurous  kind,  mingled  with  practical 
purposes,  in  which  he  delighted.  This  winter  voyage 
down  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe,  with  the  doctor  for  a  com- 
panion and  two  Indians  for  crew,  through  regions  yet 
insecure  from  the  capricious  hostility  of  prowling  sav- 
ages, is  not  one  of  the  least  striking  of  his  frontier 
"  experiences/'  The  hazardous  nature  of  it  was  made 
apparent  shortly  afterwards  by  another  outbreak  of  the 
Ohio  tribes  ;  one  of  its  bloodiest  actions  took  place  on 
the  very  banks  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  in  which  Colonel 
Lewis  and  a  number  of  brave  Virginians  lost  their 
lives. 

NOTE. 

In  the  final  adjustment  of  claims  under  Governor  Dinwiddie's  pro- 
clamation, Washington,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  officers  and  soldiers, 
obtained  grants  for  the  lands  he  had  marked  out  in  the  course  of  his 
visit  to  the  Ohio.  Fifteen  thousand  acres  were  awarded  to  a  field- 
officer,  nine  thousand  to  a  captain,  six  thousand  to  a  subaltern,  and  so 
on.  Among  the  claims  which  he  entered  were  those  of  Stobo  and 
Van  Braam,  the  hostages  in  the  capitulation  at  the  Great  Meadows. 
After  many  vicissitudes  they  were  now  in  London,  and  nine  thousand 
acres  were  awarded  to  each  of  them.  Their  domains  were  ultimately 
purchased  by  Washington  through  his  London  agent. 

Another  claimant  was  Colonel  George  Muse,  Washington's  early 
instructor  in  military  science.  His  claim  was  admitted  with  difficulty, 
for  he  stood  accused  of  having  acted  the  part  of  a  poltroon  in  the 
campaign,  and  Washington  seems  to  have  considered  the  charge  well 
founded.  Still  he  appears  to  have  been  dissatisfied  with  the  share  of 
land  assigned  him,  and  to  have  written  to  Washington  somewhat 
rudely  on  the  subject.  His  letter  is  not  extant,  but  we  subjoin  Wash- 
vol.  I.— 24 


370  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1773. 

ington's  reply  almost  entire,  as  a  specimen  of  the  caustic  pen  he  could 
wield  under  a  mingled  emotion  of  scorn  and  indignation. 

"Sir, — Your  impertinent  letter  was  delivered  to  me  yesterday. 
As  I  am  not  accustomed  to  receive  such  from  any  man,  nor  would  have 
taken  the  same  language  from  you  personally,  without  letting  you  feel 
some  marks  of  my  resentment,  I  advise  you  to  be  cautious  in  writing 
me  a  second  of  the  same  tenor;  for  though  I  understand  you  were 
drunk  when  you  did  it,  yet  give  me  leave  to  tell  you  that  drunken- 
ness is  no  excuse  for  rudeness.  But  for  your  stupidity  and  sottishness 
you  might  have  known,  by  attending  to  the  public  gazette,  that  you 
had  your  full  quantity  of  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  allowed  you ; 
that  is,  nine  thousand  and  seventy-three  acres  in  the  great  tract,  and 
the  remainder  in  the  small  tract. 

"  But  suppose  you  had  really  fallen  short,  do  you  think  your  su- 
perlative merit  entitles  you  to  greater  indulgence  than  others  ?  Or, 
if  it  did,  that  I  was  to  make  it  good  to  you,  when  it  was  at  the  option 
of  the  governor  and  council  to  allow  but  five  hundred  acres  in  the 
whole,  if  they  had  been  so  inclined  ?  If  either  of  these  should  happen 
to  be  your  opinion,  I  am  very  well  convinced  that  you  will  be  singu- 
lar in  it ;  and  all  my  concern  is  that  I  ever  engaged  myself  in  behalf 
of  so  ungrateful  and  dirty  a  fellow  as  you  are." 

N".  B. — The  above  is  from  the  letter  as  it  exists  in  the  archives  of 
the  Department  of  State  at  Washington.  It  differs  in  two  or  three 
particulars  from  that  published  among  Washington's  writings. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

LOED  DUNMOEE  GOVERNOE  OF  VIRGINIA — PIQUES  THE  PBIDE  OF  THE  VIR- 
GINIANS— OPPOSITION  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY — OOE  RESPONDING  COMMITTEES 
— DEATH  OF  MISS  CUSTIS — WASHINGTON'S  GUAEDIANSHIP  OF  JOHN 
PAEKE  CUSTIS — HIS  OPINIONS  AS  TO  PREMATURE  TRAVEL  AND  PEEMA- 
TURE  MAERIAGE. 

The  discontents  of  Virginia,  which  had  been  partially 
soothed  by  the  amiable  administration  of  Lord  Bote- 
tourt, were  irritated  anew  under  his  successor,  the  Earl 
of  Dunmore.  This  nobleman  had  for  a  short  time 
held  the  government  of  New  York.  When  appointed 
to  that  of  Virginia,  he  lingered  for  several  months  at 
his  former  post.  In  the  mean  time,  he  sent  his  military 
secretary,  Captain  Toy,  to  attend  to  the  despatch  of 
business  until  his  arrival;  awarding  to  him  a  salary 
and  fees  to  be  paid  by  the  colony. 

The  pride  of  the  Virginians  was  piqued  at  his  lin- 
gering at  New  York,  as  if  he  preferred  its  gayety  and 
luxury  to  the  comparative  quiet  and  simplicity  of 
Williamsburg.  Their  pride  was  still  more  piqued  on 
his  arrival,  by  what  they  considered  haughtiness  on  his 
part.      The  spirit  of  the  "Ancient  Dominion "  was 


372  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1773. 

roused,  and  his  lordship  experienced  opposition  at  his 
very  outset. 

The  first  measure  of  the  Assembly,  at  its  opening, 
was  to  demand  by  what  right  he  had  awarded  a  salary 
and  fees  to  his  secretary  without  consulting  it ;  and  to 
question  whether  it  was  authorized  by  the  crown. 

His  lordship  had  the  good  policy  to  rescind  the  un- 
authorized act,  and  in  so  doing  mitigated  the  ire  of  the 
Assembly ;  but  he  lost  no  time  in  proroguing  a  body, 
which,  from  various  symptoms,  appeared  to  be  too  in- 
dependent, and  disposed  to  be  untractable. 

He  continued  to  prorogue  it  from  time  to  time, 
seeking  in  the  interim  to  conciliate  the  Virginians,  and 
soothe  their  irritated  pride.  At  length,  after  repeated 
prorogations,  he  was  compelled  by  circumstances  to 
convene  it  on  the  1st  of  March,  1773. 

Washington  was  prompt  in  his  attendance  on  the 
occasion ;  and  foremost  among  the  patriotic  members, 
who  eagerly  availed  themselves  of  this  long  wished  for 
opportunity  to  legislate  upon  the  general  affairs  of  the 
colonies.  One  of  their  most  important  measures  was 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  eleven  persons, 
"  whose  business  it  should  be  to  obtain  the  most  clear 
and  authentic  intelligence  of  all  such  acts  and  resolu- 
tions of  the  British  Parliament,  or  proceedings  of  ad- 
ministration, as  may  relate  to  or  affect  the  British 
colonies,  and  to  maintain  with  their  sister  colonies  a 
correspondence  and  communication." 

The  plan  thus  proposed  by  their  "noble,  patriotic 
sister  colony  of  Virginia,"  *  was  promptly  adopted  by 

*  Boston  Town  Records. 


1773.]  DEATH    OF   MISS    CUSTIS.  373 

the  people  of  Massachusetts,  and  soon  met  with  gene- 
ral concurrence.  These  corresponding  committees,  in 
effect,  became  the  executive  power  of  the  patriot  party, 
producing  the  happiest  concert  of  design  and  action 
throughout  the  colonies. 

Notwithstanding  the  decided  part  taken  by  Wash- 
ington in  the  popular  movement,  very  friendly  relations 
existed  between  him  and  Lord  Dunmore.  The  latter 
appreciated  his  character,  and  sought  to  avail  himself 
of  his  experience  in  the  affairs  of  the  province.  It 
was  even  concerted  that  Washington  should  accompany 
his  lordship  on  an  extensive  tour,  which  the  latter 
intended  to  make  in  the  course  of  the  summer  along 
the  western  frontier.  A  melancholy  circumstance  oc- 
curred to  defeat  this  arrangement. 

We  have  spoken  of  Washington's  paternal  conduct 
towards  the  two  children  of  Mrs.  Washington.  The 
daughter,  Miss  Custis,  had  long  been  an  object  of  ex- 
treme solicitude.  She  was  of  a  fragile  constitution, 
and  for  some  time  past  had  been  in  very  declining  health. 
Early  in  the  present  summer,  symptoms  indicated  a 
rapid  change  for  the  worse.  Washington  was  absent 
from  home  at  the  time.  On  his  return  to  Mount  Ver- 
non, he  found  her  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption. 

Though  not  a  man  given  to  bursts  of  sensibility,  he 
is  said  on  the  present  occasion  to  have  evinced  the 
deepest  affliction ;  kneeling  by  her  bedside,  and  pour- 
ing out  earnest  prayers  for  her  recovery.  She  expired 
on  the  19th  of  June,  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  her 
age.  This,  of  course,  put  an  end  to  Washington's 
intention  of  accompanying  Lord  Dunmore  to  the  fron- 
tier ;  he  remained  at  home  to  console  Mrs.  Washing- 


374  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1773. 

ton  in  her  affliction, — furnishing  his  lordship,  however, 
with  travelling  hints  and  directions,  and  recommending 
proper  guides.  And  here  we  will  take  occasion  to  give 
a  few  brief  particulars  of  domestic  affairs  at  Mount 
Vernon. 

For  a  long  time  previous  to  the  death  of  Miss 
Custis,  her  mother,  despairing  of  her  recovery,  had 
centered  her  hopes  in  her  son,  John  Parke  Custis. 
This  rendered  Washington's  guardianship  of  him  a 
delicate  and  difficult  task.  He  was  lively,  susceptible 
and  impulsive ;  had  an  independent  fortune  in  his  own 
right,  and  an  indulgent  mother,  ever  ready  to  plead  in 
his  behalf  against  wholesome  discipline.  He  had  been 
placed  under  the  care  and  instruction  of  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  at  Annapolis,  but  was  occasionally  at  home, 
mounting  his  horse,  and  taking  a  part,  while  yet  a  boy, 
in  the  fox-hunts  at  Mount  Vernon.  His  education  had 
consequently  been  irregular  and  imperfect,  and  not 
such  as  Washington  would  have  enforced  had  he  pos- 
sessed over  him  the  absolute  authority  of  a  father. 
Shortly  after  the  return  of  the  latter  from  his  tour  to 
the  Ohio,  he  was  concerned  to  find  that  there  was  an 
idea  entertained  of  sending  the  lad  abroad,  though  but 
little  more  than  sixteen  years  of  age,  to  travel  under 
the  care  of  his  clerical  tutor.  Through  his  judicious 
interference,  the  travelling  scheme  was  postponed,  and 
it  was  resolved  to  give  the  young  gentleman's  mind  the 
benefit  of  a  little  preparatory  home  culture. 

Little  more  than  a  year  elapsed  before  the  sallying 
impulses  of  the  youth  had  taken  a  new  direction.  He 
was  in  love ;  what  was  more,  he  was  engaged  to  the 


1773.]      EARLY  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  MARRIAGE.  375 

object  of  his  passion,  and  on  the  high  road  to  matri- 
mony. 

Washington  now  opposed  himself  to  premature 
marriage  as  he  had  done  to  premature  travel.  A  cor- 
respondence ensued  between  him  and  the  young  lady's 
father,  Benedict  Calvert,  Esq.  The  match  was  a  satis- 
factory one  to  all  parties,  but  it  was  agreed,  that  it  was 
expedient  for  the  youth  to  pass  a  year  or  two  previously 
at  college.  Washington  accordingly  accompanied  him 
to  New  York,  and  placed  him  under  the  care  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Cooper,  president  of  King's  (now  Columbia) 
College,  to  pursue  his  studies  in  that  institution.  All 
this  occurred  before  the  death  of  his  sister.  Within  a 
year  after  that  melancholy  event,  he  became  impatient 
for  a  union  with  the  object  of  his  choice.  His  mother, 
now  more  indulgent  than  ever  to  this,  her  only  child, 
yielded  her  consent,  and  Washington  no  longer  made 
opposition. 

"  It  has  been  against  my  wishes,"  writes  the  latter 
to  President  Cooper,  "  that  he  should  quit  college  in 
order  that  he  may  soon  enter  into  a  new  scene  of  life, 
which  I  think  he  would  be  much  fitter  for  some  years 
hence  than  now.  But  having  his  own  inclination,  the 
desires  of  his  mother,  and  the  acquiescence  of  almost  all 
his  relatives  to  encounter,  I  did  not  care,  as  he  is  the 
last  of  the  family,  to  push  my  opposition  too  far;  I 
have,  therefore,  submitted  to  a  kind  of  necessity." 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  on  the  3d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1774,  before  the  bridegroom  was  twenty-one  years 
of  age. 


376  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1773. 


NOTE. 

We  are  induced  to  subjoin  extracts  of  two  letters  from  Washington 
relative  to  young  Custis.  The  first  gives  his  objections  to  premature 
travel ;  the  second  to  premature  matrimony.  Both  are  worthy  of 
consideration  in  this  country,  where  our  young  people  have  such  a 
general  disposition  to  "  go  ahead."- 

To  the  reverend  Jonathan  Boucher  (the  tutor  of  young  Custis). 

*  *  *  *  ccj  cannot  help  giving  it  as  my  opinion,  that 
his  education,  however  advanced  it  may  be  for  a  youth  of  his 
age,  is  by  no  means  ripe  enough  for  a  travelling  tour ;  not  that  I 
think  his  becoming  a  mere  scholar  is  a  desirable  education  for  a  gen- 
tleman, but  I  conceive  a  knowledge  of  books  is  the  basis  upon  which 
all  other  knowledge  is  to  be  built,  and  in  travelling  he  is  to  become 
acquainted  with  men  and  things,  rather  than  books.  At  present, 
however  well  versed  he  may  be  in  the  principles  of  the  Latin  language 
(which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as  he  began  the  study  of  it  as  soon 
as  he  could  speak),  he  is  unacquainted  with  several  of  the  classic 
authors  that  might  be  useful  to  him.  He  is  ignorant  of  Greek,  the 
advantages  of  learning  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  judge  of;  and  he 
knows  nothing  of  French,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  him  as  a 
traveller.  He  has  little  or  no  acquaintance  with  arithmetic,  and  is 
totally  ignorant  of  the  mathematics — than  which,  at  least,  so  much 
of  them  as  relates  to  surveying,  nothing  can  be  more  essentially 
necessary  to  any  man  possessed  of  a  large  landed  estate,  the  bounds  of 
some  part  or  other  of  which  are  always  in  controversy.  Now, 
whether  he  has  time  between  this  and  next  spring  to  acquire  a  suffi- 
cient knowledge  of  these  studies,  I  leave  you  to  judge ;  as,  also, 
whether  a  boy  of  seventeen  years  old  (which  will  be  his  age  next  No- 
vember), can  have  any  just  notions  of  the  end  and  design  of  travel- 
ling. I  have  already  given  it  as  my  opinion  that  it  would  be 
precipitating  this  event,  unless  he  were  to  go  immediately  to  the 
university  for  a  couple  of  years ;  in  which  case  he  could  see  nothing 
of  America ;  which  might  be  a  disadvantage  to  him,  as  it  is  to  be 
expected  that  every  man,  who  travels  with  a  view  of  observing  the 
laws  and  customs  of  other  countries,  should  be  able  to  give  some 
description  of  the  situation  and  government  of  his  own." 

The  following  are  extracts  from  the  letter  to  Benedict  Calvert, 
Esq.,  the  young  lady's  father: 

"  I  write  to  you  on  a  subject  of  importance,  and  of  no  small  em 
barrassment  to  me.    My  son-in-law  and  ward,  Mr.  Custis,  has,  as  I 


L773.]  EARLY    MARRIAGE.  377 

have  been  informed,  paid  his  addresses  to  your  second  daughter ;  and 
having  made  some  progress  in  her  affections,  has  solicited  her  in  mar- 
riage. How  far  a  union  of  this  sort  may  be  agreeable  to  you,  you 
best  can  tell ;  but  I  should  think  myself  wanting  in  candor,  were  1 
not  to  confess  that  Miss  Nelly's  amiable  qualities  are  acknowledged 
on  all  hands,  and  that  an  alliance  with  your  family  will  be  pleasing 
to  his. 

"  This  acknowledgment  being  made,  you  must  permit  me  to  add, 
sir,  that  at  this,  or  in  any  short  time,  his  youth,  inexperience,  and 
unripened  education  are,  and  will  be,  insuperable  obstacles,  in  my 
opinion,  to  the  completion  of  the  marriage.  As  his  guardian,  I  con- 
ceive it  my  indispensable  duty  to  endeavor  to  carry  him  through  a 
regular  course  of  education  (many  branches  of  which,  I  am  sorry 
to  say,  he  is  totally  deficient  in),  and  to  guide  his  youth  to  a  more 
advanced  age,  before  an  event,  on  which  his  own  peace  and  the  hap- 
piness of  another  are  to  depend,  takes  place.  *  *  *  If  the  affec- 
tion which  they  have  avowed  for  each  other  is  fixed  upon  a  solid 
basis,  it  will  receive  no  diminution  in  the  course  of  two  or  three 
years;  in  which  time  he  may  prosecute  his  studies,  and  thereby 
render  himself  more  deserving  of  the  lady,  and  useful  to  society.  If, 
unfortunately,  as  they  are  both  young,  there  should  be  an  abatement 
of  affection  on  either  side,  or  both,  it  had  better  precede  than  follow 
marriage. 

"  Delivering  my  sentiments  thus  freely,  will  not,  I  hope,  lead  you 
into  a  belief  that  I  am  desirous  of  breaking  off  the  match.  To  post- 
pone it  is  all  I  have  in  view ;  for  I  shall  recommend  to  the  young 
gentleman,  with  the  warmth  that  becomes  a  man  of  honor,  to  con- 
sider himself  as  much  engaged  to  your  daughter,  as  if  the  indissolu- 
ble knot  were  tied ;  and  as  the  surest  means  of  effecting  this,  to 
apply  himself  closely  to  his  studies,  by  which  he  will,  in  a  great 
measure,  avoid  those  little  flirtations  with  other  young  ladies,  that 
may,  by  dividing  the  attention,  contribute  not  a  little  to  divide  the 
affection." 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

LORD  NOETH's  BILL  FAVORING  THE  EXPOETATION  OF  TEAS — SHIPS 
FEEIGHTED  WITH  TEA  TO  THE  COLONIES — SENT  BACK  FEOM  SOME  OF 
THE  POETS — TEA  DESTROYED  AT  BOSTON — PASSAGE  OF  THE  BOSTON 
POET  BILL — SESSION  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  BURGESSES — SPLENDID  OPENING 
— BURST  OF  INDIGNATION  AT  THE  POET  BILL — HOUSE  DISSOLVED — EE- 
SOLUTIONS  AT  THE  EALEIGH  TAVEEN — PEOJEOT  OF  A  GENEEAL  CON- 
GBESS — WASHINGTON  AND  LOED  DUNMOEE — THE  POET  BLLL  GOES  INTO 
EFFECT — GENEEAL  GAGE  AT  BOSTON — LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT. 

The  general  covenant  throughout  the  colonies  against 
the  use  of  taxed  tea,  had  operated  disastrously  against 
the  interests  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  produced 
an  immense  accumulation  of  the  proscribed  article  in 
their  warehouses.  To  remedy  this,  Lord  North  brought 
in  a  bill  (1773),  by  which  the  company  were  allowed 
to  export  their  teas  from  England  to  any  part  what- 
ever, without  paying  export  duty.  This,  by  enabling 
them  to  offer  their  teas  at  a  low  price  in  the  colonies, 
would,  he  supposed,  tempt  the  Americans  to  purchase 
large  quantities,  thus  relieving  the  company,  and  at 
the  same  time  benefiting  the  revenue  by  the  impost 
duty.  Confiding  in  the  wisdom  of  this  policy,  the 
company  disgorged  their  warehouses,  freighted  several 


1773.]  .  DESTRUCTION    OF   THE   TEA.  379 

ships  with  tea,  and  sent  them  to  various  parts  of  the 
colonies.  This  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  One  senti- 
ment, one  determination,  pervaded  the  whole  continent. 
Taxation  was  to  receive  its  definitive  blow.  Who- 
ever submitted  to  it  was  an  enemy  to  his  country. 
From  New  York  and  Philadelphia  the  ships  were  sent 
back,  unladen,  to  London.  In  Charleston  the  tea  was 
unloaded,  and  stored  away  in  cellars  and  other  places, 
where  it  perished.  At  Boston  the  action  was  still  more 
decisive.  The  ships  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Some 
small  parcels  of  tea  were  brought  on  shore,  but  the 
sale  of  them  was  prohibited.  The  captains  of  the 
ships,  seeing  the  desperate  state  of  the  case,  would 
have  made  sail  back  for  England,  but  they  could  not 
obtain  the  consent  of  the  consignees,  a  clearance  at  the 
custom-house,  or  a  passport  from  the  governor  to  clear 
the  fort.  It  was  evident  the  tea  was  to  be  forced  upon 
the  people  of  Boston,  and  the  principle  of  taxation 
established. 

To  settle  the  matter  completely,  and  prove  that,  on 
a  point  of  principle,  they  were  not  to  be  trifled  with,  a 
number  of  the  inhabitants,  disguised  as  Indians,  board- 
ed the  ships  in  the  night  (18th  December),  broke  open 
all  the  chests  of  tea,  and  emptied  the  contents  into  the 
sea.  This  was  no  rash  and  intemperate  proceeding  of 
a  mob,  but  the  well-considered,  though  resolute  act  of 
sober  respectable  citizens,  men  of  reflection,  but  deter- 
mination. The  whole  was  done  calmly,  and  in  perfect 
order;  after  which  the  actors  in  the  scene  dispersed 
without  tumult,  and  returned  quietly  to  their  homes. 

The  general  opposition  of  the  colonies  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  taxation  had  given  great  annoyance  to  govern- 


380  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

tnent,  but  this  individual  act  concentrated  all  its  wrath 
upon  Boston.  A  bill  was  forthwith  passed  in  Parlia- 
ment (commonly  called  the  Boston  port  bill),  by  which 
all  lading  and  unlading  of  goods,  wares,  and  merchan- 
dise, were  to  cease  in  that  town  and  harbor,  on  and 
after  the  4th  of  June,  and  the  officers  of  the  customs 
to  be  transferred  to  Salem. 

Another  law,  passed  soon  after,  altered  the  charter 
of  the  province,  decreeing  that  all  counsellors,  judges, 
and  magistrates,  should  be  appointed  by  the  crown, 
and  hold  office  during  the  royal  pleasure. 

This  was  followed  by  a  third,  intended  for  the  sup- 
pression of  riots;  and  providing  that  any  person  in- 
dicted for  murder,  or  other  capital  offence,  committed 
in  aiding  the  magistracy,  might  be  sent  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  some  other  colony,  or  to  Great  Britain,  for 
trial. 

Such  was  the  bolt  of  Parliamentary  wrath  fulmi- 
nated against  the  devoted  town  of  Boston.  Before  it 
fell  there  was  a  session  in  May,  of  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses.  The  social  position  of  Lord  Dunmore 
had  been  strengthened  in  the  province  by  the  arrival 
of  his  lady,  and  a  numerous  family  of  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. The  old  Virginia  aristocracy  had  vied  with  each 
other  in  hospitable  attentions  to  the  family.  A  court 
circle  had  sprung  up.  Regulations  had  been  drawn 
up  by  a  herald,  and  published  officially,  determining 
the  rank  and  precedence  of  civil  and  military  officers, 
and  their  wives.  The  aristocracy  of  the  "Ancient  Do- 
minion" was  furbishing  up  its  former  splendor.  Car- 
riages and  four  rolled  into  the  streets  of  Williamsburg, 
with  horses    handsomely   caparisoned,   bringing    the 


1774.]  HOUSE   or   BURGESSES.  381 

wealthy  planters  and  their  families  to  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment. 

Washington  arrived  in  Williamsburg  on  the  16th, 
and  dined  with  the  governor  on  the  day  of  his  arrival, 
having  a  distinguished  position  in  the  court  circle,  and 
being  still  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  his  lordship. 
The  House  of  Burgesses  was  opened  in  form,  and  one 
of  its  first  measures  was  an  address  of  congratulation 
to  the  governor,  on  the  arrival  of  his  lady.  It  was* 
followed  up  by  an  agreement  among  the  members  to 
give  her  ladyship  a  splendid  ball,  on  the  27th  of  the 
month. 

All  things  were  going  on  smoothly  and  smilingly, 
when  a  letter,  received  through  the  corresponding  com- 
mittee, brought  intelligence  of  the  vindictive  measure 
of  Parliament,  by  which  the  port  of  Boston  was  to  be 
closed  on  the  approaching  1st  of  June. 

The  letter  was  read  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and 
produced  a  general  burst  of  indignation.  All  other 
business  was  thrown  aside,  and  this  became  the  sole 
subject  of  discussion.  A  protest  against  this  and  other 
recent  acts  of  Parliament  was  entered  upon  the  journal 
of  the  House,  and  a  resolution  was  adopted,  on  the 
24th  of  May,  setting  apart  the  1st  of  June  as  a  day  of 
fasting,  prayer,  and  humiliation ;  in  which  the  divine 
interposition  was  to  be  implored,  to  avert  the  heavy 
calamity  threatening  destruction  to  their  rights,  and  all 
the  evils  of  civil  war ;  and  to  give  the  people  one  heart 
and  one  mind  in  firmly  opposing  every  injury  to  Amer- 
ican liberties. 

On  the  following  morning,  while  the  Burgesses 
were  engaged  in  animated  debate,  they  were  sum- 


382  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774, 

nioned  to  attend  Lord  Dunmore  in  the  council  cham- 
ber, where  he  made  them  the  following  laconic  speech : 
"  Mr.  Speaker,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses :  I  have  in  my  hand  a  paper,  published  by  order 
of  your  House,  conceived  in  such  terms,  as  reflect 
highly  upon  his  majesty,  and  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain,  which  makes  it  necessary  for  me  to  dissolve 
you,  and  you  are  dissolved  accordingly." 

As  on  a  former  occasion,  the  Assembly,  though  dis- 
solved, was  not  dispersed.  The  members  adjourned  to 
the  long  room  of  the  old  Raleigh  tavern,  and  passed  reso- 
lutions, denouncing  the  Boston  port  bill  as  a  most  dan- 
gerous attempt  to  destroy  the  constitutional  liberty 
and  rights  of  all  North  America ;  recommending  their 
countrymen  to  desist  from  the  use,  not  merely  of  tea, 
but  of  all  kinds  of  East  Indian  commodities;  pro- 
nouncing an  attack  on  one  of  the  colonies,  to  enforce 
arbitrary  taxes,  an  attack  on  all;  and  ordering  the 
committee  of  correspondence  to  communicate  with  the 
other  corresponding  committees,  on  the  expediency  of 
appointing  deputies  from  the  several  colonies  of  British 
America,  to  meet  annually  in  General  Congress,  at 
such  place  as  might  be  deemed  expedient,  to  deliberate 
on  such  measures  as  the  united  interests  of  the  colonies 
might  require. 

This  was  the  first  recommendation  of  a  General 
Congress  by  any  public  assembly,  though  it  had  been 
previously  proposed  in  town  meetings  at  New  York 
and  Boston.  A  resolution  to  the  same  effect  was 
passed  in  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  before  it  was 
aware  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Virginia  Legislature. 
The  measure  recommended  met  with  prompt  and  gen- 


1774.J  PROJECT   OF   A   GENERAL  LEAGUE.  383 

eral  concurrence  throughout  the  colonies,  and  the  fifth 
day  of  September  next  ensuing  was  fixed  upon  for  the 
meeting  of  the  first  Congress,  which  was  to  be  held  at 
Philadelphia. 

Notwithstanding  Lord  Dunmore's  abrupt  dissolu- 
tion of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  the  members  still  con- 
tinued on  courteous  terms  with  him,  and  the  ball  which 
they  had  decreed  early  in  the  session  in  honor  of  Lady 
Dunmore,  was  celebrated  on  the  27th  with  unwavering 
gallantry. 

As  to  Washington,  widely  as  he  differed  from  Lord 
Dunmore  on  important  points  of  policy,  his  intimacy 
with  him  remained  uninterrupted.  By  memorandums 
in  his  diary,  it  appears  that  he  dined  and  passed  the 
evening  at  his  lordship's  on  the  25th,  the  very  day  of 
the  meeting  at  the  Raleigh  tavern.  That  he  rode  out 
with  him  to  his  farm,  and  breakfasted  there  with  him 
on  the  26th,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  27th  attended 
the  ball  given  to  her  ladyship.  Such  was  the  well-bred 
decorum  that  seemed  to  quiet  the  turbulence  of  popu- 
lar excitement,  without  checking  the  full  and  firm  ex- 
pression of  popular  opinion. 

On  the  29th,  two  days  after  the  ball,  letters  arrived 
from  Boston  giving  the  proceedings  of  a  town  meeting, 
recommending  that  a  general  league  should  be  formed 
throughout  the  colonies  suspending  all  trade  with  Great 
Britain.  But  twenty-five  members  of  the  late  House 
of  Burgesses,  including  Washington,  were  at  that  time 
remaining  in  Williamsburg.  They  held  a  meeting  on 
the  following  day,  at  which  Peyton  Randolph  presided 
as  moderator.  After  some  discussion,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  issue  a  printed  circular,  bearing  their  signa- 


384  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1774 

tures,  and  calling  a  meeting  of  all  the  members  of  the 
late  House  of  Burgesses,  on  the  1st  of  August,  to  take 
mto  consideration  this  measure  of  a  general  league. 
The  circular  recommended  them,  also,  to  collect,  in  the 
mean  time,  the  sense  of  their  respective  counties. 

Washington  was  still  at  Williamsburg  on  the  1st 
of  June,  the  day  when  the  port  bill  was  to  be  enforced 
at  Boston.  It  was  ushered  in  by  the  tolling  of  bells, 
and  observed  by  all  true  patriots  as  a  day  of  fasting 
and  humiliation.  Washington  notes  in  his  diary  that 
he  fasted  rigidly,  and  attended  the  services  appointed 
in  the  church.  Still  his  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
Dunmore  family  was  continued  during  the  remainder 
of  his  sojourn  in  Williamsburg,  where  he  was  detained 
by  business  until  the  20th,  when  he  set  out  on  his  re- 
turn to  Mount  Vernon. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Boston  port  bill  had  been 
carried  into  effect.  On  the  1st  of  June,  the  harbor  of 
Boston  was  closed  at  noon,  and  all  business  ceased. 
The  two  other  parliamentary  acts  altering  the  charter 
of  Massachusetts  were  to  be  enforced.  No  public 
meetings,  excepting  the  annual  town  meetings  in 
March  and  May,  were  to  be  held  without  permission 
of  the  governor. 

General  Thomas  Gage  had  recently  been  appointed 
to  the  military  command  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
carrying  out  of  these  offensive  acts.  He  was  the  same 
officer  who,  as  lieutenant-colonel,  had  led  the  advance 
guard  on  the  field  of  Braddock's  defeat.  Fortune  had 
since  gone  well  with  him.  Rising  in  the  service,  he 
had  been  governor  of  Montreal,  and  had  succeeded 
Amherst  in  the  command  of  the  British  forces  on  this 


1774.]  GENERAL    GAGE    AT   BOSTON.  385 

continent.  He  was  linked  to  the  country  also  by 
domestic  ties,  having  married  into  one  of  the  most 
respectable  families  of  New  Jersey.  In  the  various 
situations  in  which  he  had  hitherto  been  placed  he  had 
won  esteem,  and  rendered  himself  popular.  Not  much 
was  expected  from  him  in  his  present  post  by  those 
who  knew  him  well.  William  Smith,  the  historian, 
speaking  of  him  to  Adams,  "  Gage,"  said  he,  "  was  a 
good-natured,  peaceable,  sociable  man  while  here  (in 
New  York),  but  altogether  unfit  for  a  governor  of 
Massachusetts.  He  will  lose  all  the  character  he  has 
acquired  as  a  man,  a  gentleman,  and  a  general,  and 
dwindle  down  into  a  mere  scribbling  governor — a 
mere  Bernard  or  Hutchinson." 

With  all  Gage's  experience  in  America,  he  had 
formed  a  most  erroneous  opinion  of  the  character  of 
the  people.  "The  Americans,"  said  he  to  the  king, 
"  will  be  lions  only  as  long  as  the  English  are  lambs ; " 
and  he  engaged,  with  five  regiments,  to  keep  Boston 
quiet ! 

The  manner  in  which  his  attempts  to  enforce  the 
recent  acts  of  Parliament  were  resented,  showed  how 
egregiously  he  was  in  error.  At  the  suggestion  of  the 
Assembly,  a  paper  was  circulated  through  the  province 
by  the  committee  of  correspondence,  entitled  "  a  solemn 
league  and  covenant,"  the  subscribers  to  which  bound 
themselves  to  break  off  all  intercourse  with  Great  Bri- 
tain from  the  1st  of  August,  until  the  colony  should  be 
restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  chartered  rights ;  and 
to  renounce  all  dealings  wijh  those  who  should  refuse 
to  enter  into  this  compact. 

The  very  title  of  league  and  covenant  had  an  omi- 
vol.  i. — 25 


386  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1774 

nous  sound,  and  startled  General  Gage.  He  issued  a 
proclamation,  denouncing  it  as  illegal  and  traitorous. 
Furthermore,  he  encamped  a  force  of  infantry  and 
artillery  on  Boston  Common,  as  if  prepared  to  enact 
the  lion.  An  alarm  spread  through  the  adjacent  coun- 
try. "  Boston  is  to  be  blockaded !  Boston  is  to  be 
reduced  to  obedience  by  force  or  famine  !  "  The  spirit 
of  the  yeomanry  was  aroused.  They  sent  in  word  to 
the  inhabitants  promising  to  come  to  their  aid  if  neces- 
sary ;  and  urging  them  to  stand  fast  to  the  faith.  Affairs 
were  coming  to  a  crisis.  It  was  predicted  that  the  new 
acts  of  Parliament  would  bring  on  "a  most  important 
and  decisive  trial.,, 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

WASHINGTON  OHAIEMAN    OF    A    POLITICAL    MEETING COBEESPONDENOE 

WITH  BETAN  FAIEFAX — PATEIOTIO  EESOLUTIONS — WASHINGTON'S 
OPINIONS  ON  PUBLIC  AFFAIES — NON-IMPOBTATION  SCHEME — CONVEN- 
TION AT  WILLIAMSBUEG WASHINGTON  APPOINTED    A    DELEGATE   TO 

THE  GENEEAL  CONGE  ESS — LETTEE  FEOM  BEY  AN  FAIEFAX — PEE- 
PLEXITIES  OF   GENEEAL  GAGE  AT  BOSTON. 

Shortly  after  Washington's  return  to  Mount  Vernon, 
in  the  latter  part  of  June,  he  presided  as  moderator  at 
a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Fairfax  County,  where- 
in, after  the  recent  acts  of  Parliament  had  been  dis- 
cussed, a  committee  was  appointed,  with  himself  as 
chairman,  to  draw  up  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sen- 
timents of  the  present  meeting,  and  to  report  the  same 
at  a  general  meeting  of  the  county,  to  be  held  in  the 
court-house  on  the  18th  of  July. 

The  course  that  public  measures  were  taking, 
shocked  the  loyal  feelings  of  Washington's  valued 
friend,  Bryan  Fairfax,  of  Tarlston  Hall,  a  younger 
brother  of  George  William,  who  was  absent  in  Eng- 
land. He  was  a  man  of  liberal  sentiments,  but  at- 
tached to  the  ancient  rule ;  and,  in  a  letter  to  Wash- 
ington, advised  a  petition  to  the  throne,  which  would 


388  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

give  Parliament  an  opportunity  to  repeal  the  offensive 
acts. 

"  I  would  heartily  join  you  in  your  political  senti- 
ments," writes  Washington  in  reply,  "  as  far  as  relates 
to  a  humble  and  dutiful  petition  to  the  throne,  pro- 
vided there  was  the  most  distant  hope  of  success. 
But  have  we  not  tried  this  already?  Have  we  not 
addressed  the  Lords,  and  remonstrated  to  the  Com- 
mons? And  to  what  end?  Does  it  not  appear  as 
clear  as  the  sun  in  its  meridian  brightness,  that  there  is 
a  regular,  systematic  plan  to  fix  the  right  and  practice 
of  taxation  upon  us?  *****  Is  not  the 
attack  upon  the  liberty  and  property  of  the  people  of 
Boston,  before  restitution  of  the  loss  to  the  India  Com- 
pany was  demanded,  a  plain  and  self-evident  proof  of 
what  they  are  aiming  at  ?  Do  not  the  subsequent  bills 
for  depriving  the  Massachusetts  Bay  of  its  charter,  and 
for  transporting  offenders  to  other  colonies  or  to  Great 
Britain  for  trial,  where  it  is  impossible,  from  the  nature 
of  things,  that  justice  can  be  obtained,  convince  us  that 
the  administration  is  determined  to  stick  at  nothing  to 
carry  its  point  ?  Ought  we  not,  then,  to  put  our  vir- 
tue and  fortitude  to  the  severest  tests  ?  " 

The  committee  met  according  to  appointment,  with 
Washington  as  chairman.  The  resolutions  framed  at 
the  meeting  insisted,  as  usual,  on  the  right  of  self-gov- 
ernment, and  the  principle  that  taxation  and  represen- 
tation were  in  their  nature  inseparable.  That  the 
various  acts  of  Parliament  for  raising  revenue ;  taking 
away  trials  by  jury ;  ordering  that  persons  might  be 
tried  in  a  different  country  from  that  in  which  the 
cause  of  accusation  originated;   closing  the  port  of 


1774.]  RESOLUTIONS    OF   THE    COMMITTEE.  389 

Boston ;  abrogating  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
&c.,  &c., — were  all  part  of  a  premeditated  design  and 
system  to  introduce  arbitrary  government  into  the  colo- 
nies. That  the  sudden  and  repeated  dissolutions  of 
Assemblies  whenever  they  presumed  to  examine  the 
illegality  of  ministerial  mandates,  or  deliberated  on  the 
violated  rights  of  their  constituents,  were  part  of  the 
same  system,  and  calculated  and  intended  to  drive  the 
people  of  the  colonies  to  a  state  of  desperation,  and  to 
dissolve  the  compact  by  which  their  ancestors  bound 
themselves  and  their  posterity  to  remain  dependent  on 
the  British  brown.  The  resolutions,  furthermore,  re- 
commended the  most  perfect  union  and  co-operation 
among  the  colonies ;  solemn  covenants  with  respect  to 
non-importation  and  non-intercourse,  and  a  renunciation 
of  all  dealings  with  any  colony,  town,  or  province,  that 
should  refuse  to  agree  to  the  plan  adopted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Congress. 

They  also  recommended  a  dutiful  petition  and 
remonstrance  from  the  Congress  to  the  king,  asserting 
their  constitutional  rights  and  privileges;  lamenting 
the  necessity  of  entering  into  measures  that  might  be 
displeasing ;  declaring  their  attachment  to  his  person, 
family,  and  government,  and  their  desire  to  continue  in 
dependence  upon  Great  Britain;  beseeching  him  not 
to  reduce  his  faithful  subjects  of  America  to  despera- 
tion, and  to  reflect,  that  from  our  sovereign  there  can 
be  but  one  appeal. 

These  resolutions  are  the  more  worthy  of  note,  as 
expressive  of  the  opinions  and  feelings  of  Washington 
at  this  eventful  time,  if  not  being  entirely  dictated  by 


390  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

him.     The  last  sentence  is  of  awful  import,  suggesting 
the  possibility  of  being  driven  to  an  appeal  to  arms. 

Bryan  Fairfax,  who  was  aware  of  their  purport, 
addressed  a  long  letter  to  Washington,  on  the  17th  of 
July,  the  day  preceding  that  in  which  they  were  to  be 
reported  by  the  committee,  stating  his  objections  to 
several  of  them,  and  requesting  that  his  letter  might 
be  publicly  read.  The  letter  was  not  received  until 
after  the  committee  had  gone  to  the  court-house  on  the 
18th,  with  the  resolutions  revised,  corrected,  and  ready 
to  be  reported.  Washington  glanced  over  the  letter 
hastily,  and  handed  it  round  to  several  of  the  gentle- 
men present.  They,  with  one  exception,  advised  that 
it  should  not  be  publicly  read,  as  it  was  not  likely 
to  make  any  converts,  and  was  repugnant,  as  some 
thought,  to  every  principle  they  were  contending  for. 
Washington  forbore,  therefore,  to  give  it  any  further 
publicity. 

The  resolutions  reported  by  the  committee  were 
adopted,  and  Washington  was  chosen  a  delegate  to 
represent  the  county  at  the  General  Convention  of  the 
province,  to  be  held  at  Williamsburg  on  the  1st  of 
August.  After  the  meeting  had  adjourned,  he  felt 
doubtful  whether  Fairfax  might  not  be  dissatisfied 
that  his  letter  had  not  been  read,  as  he  requested,  to 
the  county  at  large;  he  wrote  to  him,  therefore,  ex- 
plaining the  circumstances  which  prevented  it ;  at  the 
same  time  replying  to  some  of  the  objections  which 
Fairfax  had  made  to  certain  of  the  resolutions.  He 
reiterated  his  belief  that  an  appeal  would  be  ineffect- 
ual. "  What  is  it  we  are  contending  against  ?  "  asked 
he ;  "Is  it  against  paying  the  duty  of  threepence  per 


1774.]  LETTER   TO    BRYAN    FAIRFAX.  391 

pound  on  tea  because  burdensome?  No,  it  is  the 
right  only,  that  we  have  all  along  disputed;  and  to 
this  end,  we  have  already  petitioned  his  majesty  in  as 
humble  and  dutiful  a  manner  as  subjects  could  do. 
Nay,  more,  we  applied  to  the  House  of  Lords  and 
House  of  Commons  in  their  different  legislative  capaci- 
ties, setting  forth  that,  as  Englishmen,  we  could  not  be 
deprived  of  this  essential  and  valuable  part  of  our  con- 
stitution.    ***** 

"The  conduct  of  the  Boston  people  could  not 
justify  the  rigor  of  their  measures,  unless  there  had 
been  a  requisition  of  payment,  and  refusal  of  it ;  nor 
did  that  conduct  require  an  act  to  deprive  the  govern- 
ment of  Massachusetts  Bay  of  their  charter,  or  to  exempt 
offenders  from  trial  in  the  places  where  offences  were 
committed,  as  there  was  not,  nor  could  there  be,  a  sin- 
gle instance  produced  to  manifest  the  necessity  of  it. 
Are  not  all  these  things  evident  proofs  of  a  fixed  and 
uniform  plan  to  tax  us  ?  If  we  want  further  proofs, 
do  not  all  the  debates  in  th$  House  of  Commons  serve 
to  confirm  this  ?  And  has  not  General  Gage's  conduct 
since  his  arrival,  in  stopping  the  address  of  his  council, 
and  publishing  a  proclamation,  more  becoming  a  Turk- 
ish bashaw  than  an  English  governor,  declaring  it  trea- 
son to  associate  in  any  manner  by  which  the  commerce 
of  Great  Britain  is  to  be  affected, — has  not  this  exhib- 
ited an  unexampled  testimony  of  the  most  despotic  sys- 
tem of  tyranny  that  ever  was  practised  in  a  free  gov- 
ernment ?  " 

The  popular  measure  on  which  Washington  laid 
the  greatest  stress  as  a  means  of  obtaining  redress 
from  government,  was  the  non-importation  scheme; 


392  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.       •  [1774. 

"  for  I  am  convinced,"  said  he,  "  as  much  as  of  my 
existence,  that  there  is  no  relief  for  us  but  in  their  dis- 
tress ;  and  I  think — at  least  I  hope — that  there  is  pub- 
lic virtue  enough  left  among  us  to  deny  ourselves  every 
thing  but  the  bare  necessaries  of  life  to,  accomplish  this 
and."  At  the  same  time,  he  forcibly  condemned  a 
suggestion  that  remittances  to  England  should  be  with- 
held. "While  we  are  accusing  others  of  injustice," 
said  he,  "  we  should  be  just  ourselves ;  and  how  this 
can  be  whilst  we  owe  a  considerable  debt,  and  refuse 
payment  of  it  to  Great  Britain,  is  to  me  inconceivable : 
nothing  but  the  last  extremity  can  justify  it." 

On  the  1st  of  August,  the  Convention  of  represen- 
tatives from  all  parts  of  Virginia  assembled  at  Wil- 
liamsburg. Washington  appeared  on  behalf  of  Fairfax 
County,  and  presented  the  resolutions,  already  cited,  as 
the  sense  of  his  constituents.  He  is  said,  by  one  who 
was  present,  to  have  spoken  in  support  of  them  in  a 
strain  of  uncommon  eloquence,  which  shows  how  his 
latent  ardor  had  been  excited  on  the  occasion,  as  elo- 
quence was  not  in  general  among  his  attributes.  It  is 
evident,  however,  that  he  was  roused  to  an  unusual 
pitch  of  enthusiasm,  for  he  is  said  to  have  declared  that 
he  was  ready  to  raise  one  thousand  men,  subsist  them 
at  his  own  expense,  and  march  at  their  head  to  the 
relief  of  Boston.* 

The  Convention  was  six  days  in  session.  Resolu- 
tions, in  the  same  spirit  with  those  passed  in  Fairfax 
County,  were  adopted,  and  Peyton  Randolph,  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Rich- 

*  See  information  given  to  the  elder  Adams,  by  Mr.  Lynch  of  South 
Carolina. — Adams's  Diary. 


1774.]      LETTER  FROM  BRYAN  FAIRFAX.        393 

ard  Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Edmund  Pendle- 
ton, ware  appointed  delegates,  to  represent  the  people 
of  Virginia  in  the  General  Congress. 

Shortly  after  Washington's  return  from  Williams- 
burg, he  received  a  reply  from  Bryan  Fairfax,  to  his 
last  letter.  Fairfax,  who  was  really  a  man  of  liberal 
views,  seemed  anxious  to  vindicate  himself  from  any 
suspicions  of  the  contrary.  In  adverting  to  the  partial 
suppression  of  his  letter  by  some  of  the  gentlemen  of 
the  committee :  "I  am  uneasy  to  find,"  writes  he, 
"  that  any  one  should  look  upon  the  letter  sent  down 
as  repugnant  to  the  principles  we  are  contending  for ; 
and,  therefore,  when  you  have  leisure,  I  shall  take  it  as 
a  favor  if  you  will  let  me  know  wherein  it  was  thought 
so.  I  beg  leave  to  look  upon  you  as,  a  friend,  and  it  is 
a  great  relief  to  unbosom  one's  thoughts  to  a  friend. 
Besides,  the  information,  and  the  correction  of  my 
errors,  which  I«may  obtain  from  a  correspondence,  are 
great  inducements  to  it.  For  I  am  convinced  that  no 
man  in  the  colony  wishes  its  prosperity  more,  would  go 
greater  lengths  to  serve  it,  or  is,  at  the  same  time,  a 
better  subject  to  the  crown.  Pray  excuse  these  com- 
pliments, they  may  be  tolerable  from  a  friend."* 

The  hurry  of  various  occupations  prevented  Wash- 
ington, in  his  reply,  from  entering  into  any  further  dis- 
cussion of  the  popular  theme.  "  I  can  only  in  general 
add,"  said  he,  "  that  an  innate  spirit  of  freedom  first 
told  me  that  the  measures  which  the  administration 
have  for  some  time  been,  and  now  are  violently  pursu- 
ing, are  opposed  to  every  principle  of  natural  justice; 

*  Sparks.     Washington's  Writings,  vol.  ii.,  p.  329. 


394  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

whilst  much  abler  heads  than  my  own  have  fully  con- 
vinced me,  that  they  are  not  only  repugnant  to  natural 
right,  but  subversive  of  the  laws  and  constitution  of 
Great  Britain  itself.  *  *  *  *  I  shall  conclude 
with  remarking  that,  if  you  disavow  the  right  of  Par- 
liament to  tax  us,  unrepresented  as  we  are,  we  only 
differ  in  the  mode  of  opposition,  and  this  difference 
principally  arises  from  your  belief  that  they  (the  Par- 
liament I  mean),  want  a  decent  opportunity  to  repeal 
the  acts ;  whilst  I  am  fully  convinced  that  there  has 
been  a  regular  systematic  plan  to  enforce  them,  and 
that  nothing  but  unanimity  and  firmness  in  the  colo- 
nies, which  they  did  not  expect,  can  prevent  it.  By 
the  best  advices  from  Boston,  it  seems  that  General 
Gage  is  exceedingly  disconcerted  at  the  quiet  and 
steady  conduct  of  the  people  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  and  at  the  measures  pursuing  by  the  other  gov- 
ernments. I  dare  say  he  expected  to  force  those  op- 
pressed people  into  compliance,  or  irritate  them  to  acts 
of  violence  before  this,  for  a  more  colorable  pretence  of 
ruling  that,  and  the  other  colonies,  with  a  high  hand." 

Washington  had  formed  a  correct  opinion  of  the 
position  of  General  Gage.  Prom  the  time  of  taking 
command  at  Boston,  he  had  been  perplexed  how  to 
manage  its  inhabitants.  Had  they  been  hot-headed, 
impulsive,  and  prone  to  paroxysm,  his  task  would  have 
been  comparatively  easy ;  but  it  was  the  cool,  shrewd 
common  sense,  by  which  all  their  movements  were  re- 
gulated, that  confounded  him. 

High-handed  measures  had  failed  of  the  anticipated 
effect.  Their  harbor  had  been  thronged  with  ships ; 
their  town  with  troops.     The  port  bill  had  put  an  end 


L774.J  TOWN    MEETINGS   KEPT   ALIVE.  395 

to  commerce ;  wharves  were  deserted,  warehouses 
closed ;  streets  grass-grown  and  silent.  The  rich  were 
growing  poor,  and  the  poor  were  without  employ ;  yet 
the  spirit  of  the  people  was  unbroken.  There  was  no 
uproar,  however;  no  riots;  every  thing  was  awfully 
systematic  and  according  to  rule.  Town  meetings 
were  held,  in  which  public  rights  and  public  measures 
were  eloquently  discussed  by  John  Adams,  Josiah 
Quincy,  and  other  eminent  men.  Over  these  meet- 
ings, Samuel  Adams  presided  as  moderator;  a  man 
clear  in  judgment,  calm  in  conduct,  inflexible  in  reso- 
lution ;  deeply  grounded  in  civil  and  political  history, 
and  infallible  on  all  points  of  constitutional  law. 

Alarmed  at  the  powerful  influence  of  these  assem- 
blages, government  issued  an  act  prohibiting  them 
after  the  1st  of  August.  The  act  was  evaded  by  con- 
voking the  meetings  before  that  day,  and  keeping  them 
alive  indefinitely.  Gage  was  at  a  loss  how  to  act.  It 
would  not  do  to  disperse  these  assemblages  by  force  of 
arms ;  for,  the  people  who  composed  them  mingled  the 
soldier  with  the  polemic;  and,  like  their  prototypes, 
the  covenanters  of  yore,  if  prone  to  argue,  were  as 
ready  to  fight.  So  the  meetings  continued  to  be  held 
pertinaciously.  Paneuil  Hall  was  at  times  unable  to 
hold  them,  and  they  swarmed  from  that  revolutionary 
hive  into  old  South  Church.  The  liberty  tree  became 
a  rallying  place  for  any  popular  movement,  and  a  flag 
hoisted  on  it  was  saluted  by  all  processions  as  the  em- 
blem of  the  popular  cause. 

Opposition  to  the  new  plan  of  government  assumed 
a  more  violent  aspect  at  the  extremity  of  the  province, 
and  was  abetted  by  Connecticut.     "  It  is  very  high," 


396  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

writes  Gage,  (August  27th,)  "in  Berkshire  County, 
and  makes  way  rapidly  to  the  rest.  At  Worcester 
they  threaten  resistance,  purchase  arms,  provide  pow- 
der, cast  balls,  and  threaten  to  attack  any  troops  who 
may  oppose  them.  I  apprehend  I  shall  soon  have  to 
march  a  body  of  troops  into  that  township." 

The  time  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Congress  at  Philadelphia  was  now  at  hand.  Delegates 
had  already  gone  on  from  Massachusetts.  "  It  is  not 
possible  to  guess,"  writes  Gage,  "  what  a  body  com- 
posed of  such  heterogeneous  matter  will  determine; 
but  the  members  from  hence,  I  am  assured,  will  pro- 
mote the  most  haughty  and  insolent  resolves ;  for  their 
plan  has  ever  been,  by  threats  and  high-sounding  sedi- 
tion, to  terrify  and  intimidate.,, 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

meeting  of  the  first  congress — opening  ceeemonies — eloquence  of 
patrick  henry  and  heney  lee — deolaeatoey  resolution — bill 
of  eights — state  papees— chatham's  opinions  of  congress — 
Washington's  correspondence  with  capt.  Mackenzie — views 
with  respect  to  independence — departure  of  fairfax  for 

ENGLAND. 

When  the  time  approached  for  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  Washington  was 
joined  at  Monnt  Vernon  by  Patrick  Henry  and  Ed- 
mund Pendleton,  and  they  performed  the  journey  to- 
gether on  horseback.  It  was  a  noble  companionship. 
Henry  was  then  in  the  youthful  vigor  and  elasticity  of 
his  bounding  genius;  ardent,  acute,  fanciful,  eloquent. 
Pendleton,  schooled  in  public  life,  a  veteran  in  council, 
with  native  force  of  intellect,  and  habits  of  deep  reflec- 
tion. Washington,  in  the  meridian  of  his  days,  ma- 
ture in  wisdom,  comprehensive  in  mind,  sagacious  in 
foresight.  Such  were  the  apostles  of  liberty,  repairing 
on  their  august  pilgrimage  to  Philadelphia  from  all 
parts  of  the  land,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  mighty 
empire.  Well  may  we  say  of  that  eventful  period, 
"  There  were  giants  in  those  days." 


398  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

Congress  assembled  on  Monday,  the  5th  of  Sep- 
tember, in  a  large  room  in  Carpenter's  Hall.  There 
were  fifty-one  delegates,  representing  all  the  colonies 
excepting  Georgia. 

The  meeting  has  been  described  as  "  awfully  sol- 
emn." The  most  eminent  men  of  the  various  colonies 
were  now  for  the  first  time  brought  together;  they 
were  known  to  each  other  by  fame,  but  were,  person- 
ally, strangers.  The  object  which  had  called  them 
together,  was  of  incalculable  magnitude.  The  liberties 
of  no  less  than  three  millions  of  people,  with  that  of 
all  their  posterity,  were  staked  on  the  wisdom  and 
energy  of  their  councils.* 

"  It  is  such  an  assembly,"  writes  John  Adams,  who 
was  present,  "  as  never  before  came  together  on  a  sud- 
den, in  any  part  of  the  world.  Here  are  fortunes, 
abilities,  learning,  eloquence,  acuteness,  equal  to  any  I 
ever  met  with  in  my  life.  Here  is  a  diversity  of  reli- 
gions, educations,  manners,  interests,  such  as  it  would 
seem  impossible  to  unite  in  one  plan  of  conduct." 

There  being  an  inequality  in  the  number  of  dele- 
gates from  the  different  colonies,  a  question  arose  as  to 
the  mode  of  voting;  whether  by  colonies,  or  by  the 
poll,  or  by  interests. 

Patrick  Henry  scouted  the  idea  of  sectional  distinc- 
tions or  individual  interests.  "  All  America,"  said  he, 
"is  thrown  into  one  mass.  Where  are  your  land- 
marks— your  boundaries  of  colonies?  They  are  all 
thrown  down.  The  distinctions  between  Virginians, 
Pennsylvanians,  New  Yorkers  and  New  Englanders, 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  p.  224. 


1774.]  PRATERS    IN    CONGRESS.  399 

are  no  more.     /  am  not  a  Virginian,  but  an  Ameri- 


can."* 


After  some  debate,  it  was  determined  that  each 
colony  should  have  but  one  vote,  whatever  might  be  the 
number  of  delegates.  The  deliberations  of  the  House 
were  to  be  with  closed  doors,  and  nothing  but  the  re- 
solves promulgated,  unless  by  order  of  the  majority. 

To  give  proper  dignity  and  solemnity  to  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  House,  it  was  moved  on  the  following 
day,  that  each  morning  the  session  should  be  opened 
by  prayer.  To  this  it  was  demurred,  that  as  the  dele- 
gates were  of  different  religious  sects,  they  might  not 
consent  to  join  in  the  same  form  of  worship. 

Upon  this,  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  arose,  and  said : 
"  He  would  willingly  join  in  prayer  with  any  gentle- 
man of  piety  and  virtue,  whatever  might  be  his  cloth, 
provided  he  was  a  friend  of  his  country;"  and  he 
moved  that  the  reverend  Mr.  Duche,  of  Philadelphia, 
who  answered  to  that  description,  might  be  invited  to 
officiate  as  chaplain.  This  was  one  step  towards  unan- 
imity of  feeling,  Mr.  Adams  being  a  strong  Congrega- 
tionalist,  and  Mr.  Duche  an  eminent  Episcopalian  cler- 
gyman. The  motion  was  carried  into  effect ;  the  invi- 
tation was  given  and  accepted. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  a  rumor  reached  Phila- 
delphia that  Boston  had  been  cannonaded  by  the  Brit- 
ish. It  produced  a  strong  sensation ;  and  when  Con- 
gress met  on  the  following  morning  (7th),  the  effect 
was  visible  in  every  countenance.  The  delegates  from 
the  East  were  greeted  with  a  warmer  grasp  of  the  hand 
by  their  associates  from  the  South. 

*  J.  Adams'  Diary. 


400  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

The  reverend  Mr.  Duche,  according  to  invitation., 
appeared  in  his  canonicals,  attended  by  his  clerk.  The 
morning  service  of  the  Episcopal  church  was  read  with 
great  solemnity,  the  clerk  making  the  responses.  The 
Psalter  for  the  7th  day  of  the  month  includes  the  35th 
Psalm,  wherein  David  prays  for  protection  against  his 
enemies. 

"  Plead  my  cause,  O  Lord,  with  them  that  strive 
with  me  :  fight  against  them  that  fight  against  me. 

"  Take  hold  of  shield  and  buckler,  and  stand  up 
for  my  help. 

"  Draw  out,  also,  the  spear,  and  stop  the  way  of 
them  that  persecute  me.  Say  unto  my  soul,  I  am  thy 
salvation,"  &c,  &c. 

The  imploring  words  of  this  psalm,  spoke  the  feel- 
ings of  all  hearts  present ;  but  especially  of  those  from 
New  England.  John  Adams  writes  in  a  letter  to  his 
wife :  "  You  must  remember  this  was  the  morning  after 
we  heard  the  horrible  rumor  of  the  cannonade  of  Bos- 
ton. I  never  saw  a  greater  effect  upon  an  audience. 
It  seemed  as  if  heaven  had  ordained  that  psalm  to  be 
read  on  that  morning.  After  this,  Mr.  Duche  unex- 
pectedly struck  out  into  an  extemporary  prayer,  which 
filled  the  bosom  of  every  man  present.  Episcopalian 
as  he  is,  Dr.  Cooper  himself  never  prayed  with  such 
fervor,  such  ardor,  such  earnestness  and  pathos,  and  in 
language  so  eloquent  and  sublime,  for  America,  for  the 
Congress,  for  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
especially  the  town  of  Boston.  It  has  had  an  excellent 
effect  upon  every  body  here,"  * 

*  John  Adams's  Correspondence  and  Diary. 


1774]  OPENING   OF    THE    FIRST    CONGRESS.  401 

It  has  been  remarked  that  Washington  was  espe- 
cially devout  on  this  occasion — kneeling,  while  others 
stood  up.  In  this,  however,  each  no  doubt  observed 
the  attitude  in  prayer  to  which  he  was  accustomed. 
Washington  knelt,  being  an  Episcopalian. 

The  rumored  attack  upon  Boston/rendered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  day  deeply  affecting  to  all  present.  They 
were  one  political  family,  actuated  by  one  feeling,  and 
sympathizing  with  the  weal  and  woe  of  each  individual 
member.  The  rumor  proved  to  be  erroneous  ;  but  it 
had  produced  a  most  beneficial  effect,  in  calling  forth 
and  quickening  the  spirit  of  union,  so  vitally  important 
in  that  assemblage. 

Owing  to  closed  doors,  and  the  want  of  reporters, 
no  record  exists  of  the  discussions  and  speeches  made 
in  the  first  Congress.  Mr.  Wirt,  speaking  from  tra- 
dition, informs  us  that  a  long  and  deep  silence  followed 
the  organization  of  that  august  body;  the  members 
looking  round  upon  each  other,  individually  reluctant 
to  open  a  business  so  fearfully  momentous.  This 
"deep  and  deathlike  silence"  was  beginning  to  be- 
come painfully  embarrassing,  when  Patrick  Henry 
arose.  He  faltered  at  first,  as  was  his  habit ;  but  his 
exordium  was  impressive;  and  as  he  launched  forth 
into  a  recital  of  colonial  wrongs,  he  kindled  with  his 
subject,  until  he  poured  forth  one  of  those  eloquent 
appeals  which  had  so  often  shaken  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, and  gained  him  the  fame  of  being  the  greatest 
orator  of  Virginia.  He  sat  down,  according  to  Mr. 
Wirt,  amidst  murmurs  of  astonishment  and  applause, 
and  was  now  admitted,  on  every  hand,  to  be  the  first 
orator  of  America.  He  was  followed  by  Richard 
vol  i.— 26 


402  LIFE    OF  WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

Henry  Lee,  who,  according  to  the  same  writer,  charmed 
the  House  with  a  different  kind  of  eloquence,  chaste 
and  classical ;  contrasting,  in  its  cultivated  graces, 
with  the  wild  and  grand  effusions  of  Henry.  "The 
superior  powers  of  these  great  men,  however,"  adds 
he,  "  were  manifested  only  in  debate,  and  while  gen- 
eral grievances  were  the  topic ;  when  called  down  from 
the  heights  of  declamation  to  that  severer  test  of  intel- 
lectual excellence,  the  details  of  business,  they  found 
themselves  in  a  body  of  cool-headed,  reflecting,  and 
most  able  men,  by  whom  they  were,  in  their  turn,  com- 
pletely thrown  into  the  shade."  * 

The  first  public  measure  of  Congress  was  a  resolu- 
tion, declaratory  of  their  feelings  with  regard  to  the 
recent  acts  of  Parliament,  violating  the  rights  of  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  their  determination  to 
combine  in  resisting  any  force  that  might  attempt  to 
carry  those  acts  into  execution. 

A  committee  of  two  from  each  province  reported  a 
series  of  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  and  promul- 
gated by  Congress,  as  a  "declaration  of  colonial 
rights."  In  this  were  enumerated  their  natural  rights 
to  the  enjoyment  of  life,  liberty,  and  property ;  and 
their  rights  as  British  subjects.  Among  the  latter  was 
participation  in  legislative  councils.  This  they  could 
not  exercise  through  representatives  in  Parliament; 
they  claimed,  therefore,  the  power  of  legislating  in 
their  provincial  Assemblies;  consenting,  however,  to 
such  acts  of  Parliament  as  might  be  essential  to  the 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry. 


1774.]        DECLARATION    OF    COLONIAL    RIGHTS.  403 

regulation  of  trade ;  but  excluding  all  taxation,  inter- 
nal or  external,  for  raising  revenue  in  America. 

The  common  law  of  England  was  claimed  as  a 
birthright,  including  the  right  of  trial  by  a  jury  of  the 
vicinage ;  of  holding  public  meetings  to  consider  griev- 
ances ;  and  of  petitioning  the  king.  The  benefits  of 
all  such  statutes  as  existed  at  the  time  of  the  coloniza- 
tion were  likewise  claimed ;  together  with  the  immuni- 
ties and  privileges  granted  by  royal  charters,  or  secured 
by  provincial  laws. 

The  maintenance  of  a  standing  army  in  any  colony 
in  time  of  peace,  without  the  consent  of  its  Legislature, 
was  pronounced  contrary  to  law.  The  exercise  of  the 
legislative  power  in  the  colonies  by  a  council  appointed 
during  pleasure  by  the  crown,  was  declared  to  be  un- 
constitutional, and  destructive  to  the  freedom  of  Ameri- 
can legislation. 

Then  followed  a  specification  of  the  acts  of  Parlia- 
ment, passed  during  the  reign  of  George  III.,  infring- 
ing and  violating  these  rights.  These  were :  The  sugar 
act ;  the  stamp  act ;  the  two  acts  for  quartering  troops ; 
the  tea  act ;  the  act  suspending  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture; the  two  acts  for  the  trial  in  Great  Britain  of 
offences  committed  in  America ;  the  Boston  port  bill ; 
the  act  for  regulating  the  government  of  Massachusetts, 
and  the  Quebec  act. 

"To  these  grievous  acts  and  measures,"  it  was 
added,  "Americans  cannot  submit ;  but  in  hopes  their 
fellow-subjects  in  Great  Britain  will,  on  a  revision  of 
them,  restore  us  to  that  state  in  which  both  countries 
found  happiness  and  prosperity,  we  have,  for  the  pres- 
ent, only  resolved  to  pursue  the  following  peaceable 
measures : 


404  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

"1st.  To  enter  into  a  non-importation,  non-con- 
sumption, and  non-exportation  agreement,  or  association. 

"2d.  To  prepare  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain,  and  a  memorial  to  the  inhabitants  of  British 
America. 

"  3d.  To  prepare  a  loyal  address  to  his  majesty." 

The  above-mentioned  association  was  accordingly 
formed,  and  committees  were  to  be  appointed  in  every 
county,  city,  and  town,  to  maintain  it  vigilantly  and 
strictly. 

Masterly  state  papers  were  issued  by  Congress  in 
conformity  to  the  resolutions :  viz.,  a  petition  to  the 
king,  drafted  by  Mr.  Dickinson,  of  Philadelphia ;  an 
address  to  the  people  of  Canada  by  the  same  hand, 
inviting  them  to  join  the  league  of  the  colonies  ; 
another  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  drafted  by 
John  Jay,  of  New  York ;  and  a  memorial  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  British  colonies  by  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
of  Virginia.* 

The  Congress  remained  in  session  fifty-one  days. 
Every  subject,  according  to  Adams,  was  discussed 
"  with  a  moderation,  an  acuteness,  and  a  minuteness 
equal  to  that  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  privy  council."f 
The  papers  issued  by  it,  have  deservedly  been  pro- 
nounced masterpieces  of  practical  talent  and  political 
wisdom.  Chatham,  when  speaking  on  the  subject  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  could  not  restrain  his  enthusiasm. 
"  When  your  lordships,"  said  he,  "  look  at  the  papers 
transmitted  to  us  from  America;  when  you  consider 

*  See  Correspondence  and  Diary  of  J.  Adams,  vols.  ii.  and  ix. 

♦  Letter  to  William  Tudor,  29th  Sept.,  1114, 


1774.]  MASTERLY    STATE    PAPERS.  405 

their  decency,  firmness,  and  wisdom,  you  cannot  but 
respect  their  cause,  and  wish  to  make  it  your  own. 
For  myself,  I  must  declare  and  avow  that,  in  the  mas- 
ter states  of  the  world,  I  know  not  the  people,  or  sen- 
ate, who,  in  such  a  complication  of  difficult  circum- 
stances, can  stand  in  preference  to  the  delegates  of 
America  assembled  in  General  Congress  at  Philadel- 
phia." 

From  the  secrecy  that  enveloped  its  discussions,  we 
are  ignorant  of  the  part  taken  by  Washington  in  the 
debates ;  the  similarity  of  the  resolutions,  however,  in 
spirit  and  substance,  to  those  of  the  Fairfax  County 
meeting,  in  which  he  presided,  and  the  coincidence  of 
the  measures  adopted  with  those  therein  recommended, 
show  that  he  had  a  powerful  agency  in  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings of  this  eventful  assembly.  Patrick  Henry, 
being  asked,  on  his  return  home,  whom  he  considered 
the  greatest  man  in  Congress,  replied :  "  If  you  speak 
of  eloquence,  Mr.  Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina,  is  by 
far  the  greatest  orator ;  but  if  you  speak  of  solid  in- 
formation and  sound  judgment,  Colonel  Washington  is 
unquestionably  the  greatest  man  on  that  floor." 

How  thoroughly  and  zealously  he  participated  in 
the  feelings  which  actuated  Congress  in  this  memorable 
session,  may  be  gathered  from  his  correspondence  with 
a  friend  enlisted  in  the  royal  cause.  This  was  Captain 
Robert  Mackenzie,  who  had  formerly  served  under  him 
in  his  Virginia  regiment  during  the  French  war,  but 
now  held  a  commission  in  the  regular  army,  and  was 
stationed  among  the  British  troops  at  Boston. 

Mackenzie,  in  a  letter,  had  spoken  with  loyal  abhor- 
rence of  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  "  unhappy  province  " 


406  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

of  Massachusetts,  and  the  fixed  aim  of  its  inhabitants 
at  "  total  independence."  "  The  rebellious  and  numer- 
ous meetings  of  men  •in  arms,"  said  he,  "their  scandal- 
ous and  ungenerous  attacks  upon  the  best  characters 
in  the  province,  obliging  them  to  save  themselves  by 
flight,  and  their  repeated,  but  feeble  threats,  to  dispos- 
sess the  troops,  have  furnished  sufficient  reasons  to  Gen- 
eral Gage  to  put  the  town  in  a  formidable  state  of 
defence,  about  which  we  are  now  fully  employed,  and 
which  will  be  shortly  accomplished  to  their  great  morti- 
fication." 

"  Permit  me,"  writes  Washington  in  reply,  "  with 
the  freedom  of  a  friend  (for  you  know  I  always  es- 
teemed you),  to  express  my  sorrow  that  fortune  should 
place  you  in  a  service  that  must  fix  curses,  to  the  latest 
posterity,  upon  the  contrivers,  and,  if  success  (which, 
by  the  by,  is  impossible)  accompanies  it,  execrations 
upon  all  those  who  have  been  instrumental  in  the  exe- 
cution. *  *  *  *  When  you  condemn  the  con- 
duct of  the  Massachusetts  people,  you  reason  from 
effects,  not  causes ;  otherwise  you  would  not  wonder  at 
a  people,  who  are  every  day  receiving  fresh  proofs  of 
a  systematic  assertion  of  an  arbitrary  power,  deeply 
planned  to  overturn  the  laws  and  constitution  of  their 
country,  and  to  violate  the  most  essential  and  valuable 
rights  of  mankind,  being  irritated,  and  with  difliculty 
restrained  from  acts  of  the  greatest  violence  and  in- 
temperance. 

"  For  my  own  part,  I  view  things  in  a  very  differ- 
ent point  of  light  from  the  one  in  which  you  seem  to 
consider  them;  and  though  you  are  led  to  believe,  by 
venal  men,  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts  are  rebel- 


1774.]         WASHINGTON    TO    CAPT.    MACKENZIE.  407 

lious,  setting  up  for  independency,  and  what  not,  give 
me  leave,  my  good  friend,  to  tell  you  that  you  are 
abused,  grossly  abused.  *  *  *  *  I  think  I  can 
announce  it  as  a  fact,  that  it  is  not  the  wish  or  interest 
of  that  government,  or  any  other  upon  this  continent, 
separately  or  collectively,  to  set  up  for  independence ; 
but  this  you  may  at  the  same  time  rely  on,  that  none 
of  them  will  ever  submit  to  the  loss  of  their  valuable 
rights  and  privileges,  which  are  essential  to  the  happi- 
ness of  every  free  state,  and  without  which,  life,  liber- 
ty, and  property,  are  rendered  totally  insecure. 

"These,  sir,  being  certain  consequences,  which 
must  naturally  result  from  the  late  acts  of  Parliament 
relative  to  America  in  general,  and  the  government  of 
Massachusetts  in  particular,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at 
that  men  who  wish  to  avert  the  impending  blow, 
should  attempt  to  oppose  its  progress,  or  prepare  for 
their  defence,  if  it  cannot  be  averted  ?  Surely  I  may 
be  allowed  to  answer  in  the  negative;  and  give  me 
leave  to  add,  as  my  opinion,  that  more  blood  will  be 
spilled  on  this  occasion,  if  the  ministry  are  determined 
to  push  matters  to  extremity,  than  history  has  ever  yet 
furnished  instances  of  in  the  annals  of  North  America ; 
and  such  a  vital  wound  will  be  given  to  the  peace  of 
this  great  country,  as  time  itself  cannot  cure,  or  eradi- 
cate the  remembrance  of." 

In  concluding,  he  repeats  his  views  with  respect  to 
independence :  "  I  am  well  satisfied  that  no  such  thing 
is  desired  by  any  thinking  man  in  all  North  America ; 
on  the  contrary,  that  it  is  the  ardent  wish  of  the  warm- 
est advocates  for  liberty,  that  peace  and  tranquillity, 


408  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

upon  constitutional  grounds,  may  be  restored,  and  the  • 
horrors  of  civil  discord  prevented."  * 

This  letter  we  have  considered  especially  worthy  of 
citation,  from  its  being  so  full  and  explicit  a  declaration 
of  Washington's  sentiments  and  opinions  at  this  criti- 
cal juncture.  His  views  on  the  question  of  indepen- 
dence are  particularly  noteworthy,  from  his  being  at 
this  time  in  daily  and  confidential  communication  with 
the  leaders  of  the  popular  movement,  and  among  them 
with  the  delegates  from  Boston.  It  is  evident  that  the 
filial  feeling  still  throbbed  toward  the  mother  country, 
and  a  complete  separation  from  her  had  not  yet  entered 
into  the  alternatives  of  her  colonial  children. 

On  the  breaking  up  of  Congress,  Washington  has- 
tened back  to  Mount  Vernon,  where  his  presence  was 
more  than  usually  important  to  the  happiness  of  Mrs. 
Washington,  from  the  loneliness  caused  by  the  recent 
death  of  her  daughter,  and  the  absence  of  her  son. 
The  cheerfulness  of  the  neighborhood  had  been  dimin- 
ished of  late  by  the  departure  of  George  William  Pair- 
fax  for  England,  to  take  possession  of  estates  which 
had  devolved  to  him  in  that  kingdom.  His  estate  of 
Belvoir,  so  closely  allied  with  that  of  Mount  Vernon 
by  family  ties  and  reciprocal  hospitality,  was  left  in 
charge  of  a  steward,  or  overseer.  Through  some  acci- 
dent the  house  took  fire,  and  was  burnt  to  the  ground. 
It  was  never  rebuilt.  The  course  of  political  events 
which  swept  Washington  from  his  quiet  home  into  the 
current  of  public  and  military  life,  prevented  William 

*  Sparks.    Washington's  Writings,  vol.  ii.,  p.  899. 


1774]         A  CONNECTION  SEVERED.  409 

Fairfax,  who  was  a  royalist,  though  a  liberal  one, 
from  returning  to  his  once  happy  abode,  and  the  hos- 
pitable intercommunion  in  Mount  Vernon  and  Belvoir 
was  at  an  end  for  ever. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

GAGE'S     MIL1TAEY     MEASUEES — REMOVAL     OF     GUNPOWDER     FROM     THE 

ARSENAL — PUBLIC    AGITATION — ALARMS     IN     THE     COUNTRY OIYIL 

GOVERNMENT  OBSTRUCTED — BELLIGERENT  SYMPTOMS — ISRAEL  PUT- 
NAM   AND    GENERAL   CHARLES  LEE,  THEIR  CHARACTERS   AND   STORIES 

—  GENEE  AL     ELECTION  —  SELF-CONSTITUTED      CONGRESS HANCOCK 

PEE3IDENT — ADJOURNS   TO   CONCORD — REMONSTRANCE  TO    GAGE — HIS 

PERPLEXITIES — GENERALS    ARTEMAS    WARD    AND    SETH    POMEROY 

COMMITTEE  OF  SAFETY — COMMITTEE  OF  SUPPLIES — RESTLESSNESS 
THROUGHOUT  THE  LAND — INDEPENDENT  COMPANIES  IN  VIRGINIA — 
MILITARY  TONE  AT  MOUNT  VERNON — WASHINGTON'S  MILITARY  GUESTS 
— MAJOR  HORATIO  GATES — ANECDOTES  CONCERNING  HIM — GENERAL 
CHARLES  LEE — HIS  PECULIARITIES  AND  DOGS — WASHINGTON  AT  THE 
RICHMOND  CONVENTION — WAR  SPEECH  OF  PATRICK  HENRY — WASHING- 
TON'S MILITARY  INTENTIONS. 

The  rumor  of  the  cannonading  of  Boston,  which  had 
thrown  such  a  gloom  over  the  religious  ceremonial  at 
the  opening  of  Congress,  had  been  caused  by  measures 
of  Governor  Gage.  The  public  mind  in  Boston  and 
its  vicinity,  had  been  rendered  excessively  jealous  and 
sensitive  by  the  landing  and  encamping  of  artillery  upon 
the  Common,  and  Welsh  Eusiliers  on  Fort  Hill,  and 
by  the  planting  of  four  large  field-pieces  on  Boston 
Neck,  the  only  entrance  to  the  town  by  land.  The 
country  people  were  arming  and  disciphning  themselves 


1774.J  SACKING    OF    THE    ARSENAL.  41] 

in  every  direction,  and  collecting  and  depositing  arms 
and  ammunition  in  places  where  they  would  be  at  hand 
in  case  of  emergency.  Gage  on  the  other  hand,  issued 
orders  that  the  munitions  of  war  in  all  the  public  mag- 
azines should  be  brought  to  Boston.  One  of  these 
magazines  was  the  arsenal  in  the  north-west  part  of 
Charlestown,  between  Medford  and  Cambridge.  Two 
companies  of  the  king's  troops  passed  silently  in  boats 
up  Mystic  River  in  the  night;  took  possession  of  a 
large  quantity  of  gunpowder  deposited  there,  and  con- 
veyed it  to  Castle  Williams.  Intelligence  of  this  sack- 
ing of  the  arsenal  flew  with  lightning  speed  through 
the  neighborhood.  In  the  morning  several  thousands 
of  patriots  were  assembled  at  Cambridge,  weapon  in 
hand,  and  were  with  difficulty  prevented  from  marching 
upon  Boston  to  compel  a  restitution  of  the  powder. 
In  the  confusion  and  agitation,  a  rumor  stole  out  into 
the  country  that  Boston  was  to  be  attacked ;  followed 
by  another  that  the  ships  were  cannonading  the  town, 
and  the  soldiers  shooting  down  the  inhabitants.  The 
whole  country  was  forthwith  in  arms.  Numerous 
bodies  of  the  Connecticut  people  had  made  some 
marches  before  the  report  was  contradicted.* 

To  guard  against  any  irruption  from  the  country, 
Gage  encamped  the  59th  regiment  on  Boston  Neck, 
and  employed  the  soldiers  in  intrenching  and  fortify- 
ing it. 

In  the  mean  time  the  belligerent  feelings  of  the  in- 
habitants were  encouraged,  by  learning  how  the  rumor 
of  their  being  cannonaded  had  been  received  in  the 

*  Holmes's  Annals,  ii.,  191. — Letter  of  Gage  to  Lord  Dartmouth. 


412  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

General  Congress,  and  by  assurances  from  all  parts  that 
the  cause  of  Boston  would  be  made  the  common  cause 
of  America.  "  It  is  surprising,"  writes  General  Gage, 
"  that  so  many  of  the  other  provinces  interest  them- 
selves so  much  in  this.  They  have  some  warm  friends 
in  New  York,  and  I  learn  that  the  people  of  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  are  as  mad  as  they  are  here."  * 

The  commissions  were  arrived  for  those  civil  officers 
appointed  by  the  crown  under  the  new  modifications 
of  the  charter :  many,  however,  were  afraid  to  accept 
of  them.  Those  who  did,  soon  resigned,  finding  it 
impossible  to  withstand  the  odium  of  the  people.  The 
civil  government  throughout  the  province  became  ob- 
structed in  all  its  operations.  It  was  enough  for  a  man 
to  be  supposed  of  the  governmental  party,  to  incur 
popular  ill  will. 

Among  other  portentous  signs,  war^hawks  began 
to  appear  above  the  horizon.  Mrs.  Cushing,  wife  to  a 
member  of  Congress,  writes  to  her  husband:  "Two 
of  the  greatest  military  characters  of  the  day  are  visit- 
ing this  distressed  town.  General  Charles  Lee,  who 
has  served  in  Poland,  and  Colonel  Israel  Putnam, 
whose  bravery  and  character  need  no  description."  As 
these  two  men  will  take  a  prominent  part  in  coming 
events,  we  pause  to  give  a  word  or  two  concerning 
them. 

Israel  Putnam  was  a  soldier  of  native  growth. 
One  of  the  military  productions  of  the  Prench  war; 
seasoned  and  proved  in  frontier  campaigning.  He  had 
served  at  Louisburg,  Port  Duquesne,  and  Crown  Point ; 

*  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  20. 


1774]      GENERALS  PUTNAM  AND  LEE.        413 

had  signalized  himself  in  Indian  warfare;  been  cap- 
tured by  the  savages,  tied  to  a  stake  to  be  tortured  and 
burnt,  and  had  only  been  rescued  by  the  interference,  at 
the  eleventh  hour,  of  a  French  partisan  of  the  Indians. 

Since  the  peace,  he  had  returned  to  agricultural 
life,  and  was  now  a  farmer  at  Pomfret,  in  Connecticut, 
where  the  scars  of  his  wounds  and  the  tales  of  his  ex- 
ploits rendered  him  a  hero  in  popular  estimation.  The 
war  spirit  yet  burned  within  him.  He  was  now  chair- 
man of  a  committee  of  vigilance,  and  had  come  to  Bos- 
ton in  discharge  of.  his  political  and  semi-belligerent 
functions. 

General  Charles  Lee  was  a  military  man  of  a  differ- 
ent stamp ;  an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  a  highly  cul- 
tivated production  of  European  warfare.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  British  officer,  Lieutenant-colonel  John  Lee, 
of  the  dragoons,  who  married  the  daughter  of  Sir 
Henry  Bunbury,  Bart.,  and  afterwards  rose  to  be  a 
general.  Lee  was  born  in  1731,  and  may  almost  be 
said  to  have  been  cradled  in  the  army,  for  he  received 
a  commission  by  the  time  he  was  eleven  years  of  age. 
He  had  an  irregular  education;  part  of  the  time  in 
England,  part  on  the  continent,  and  must  have  scrambled 
his  way  into  knowledge ;  yet  by  aptness,  diligence,  and 
ambition,  he  had  acquired  a  considerable  portion,  being 
a  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and  acquainted  with  modern 
languages.  The  art  of  war  was  his  especial  study  from 
his  boyhood,  and  he  had  early  opportunities  of  practical 
experience.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  commanded 
a  company  of  grenadiers  in  the  44th  regiment,  and  served 
in  the  Erench  war  in  America,  where  he  was  brought 
into  military  companionship  with  Sir  William  Johnson's 


414  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

Mohawk  warriors,  whom  he  used  to  extol  for  their 
manly  beauty,  their  dress,  their  graceful  carriage  and 
good  breeding.  In  fact,  he  rendered  himself  so  much 
of  a  favorite  among  them,  that  they  admitted  him  to* 
smoke  in  their  councils,  and  adopted  him  into  the 
tribe  of  the  Bear,  giving  him  an  Indian  name,  signify- 
ing "  Boiling  Water." 

At  the  battle  of  Ticonderoga,  where  Abercrombie 
was  defeated,  he  was  shot  through  the  body,  while  lead- 
ing his  men  against  the  French  breastworks.  In  the 
next  campaign,  he  was  present  at  the  siege  of  Tort 
Niagara,  where  General  Prideaux  fell,  and  where  Sir 
William  Johnson,  with  his  British  troops  and  Mohawk 
warriors,  eventually  won  the  fortress.  Lee  had,  prob- 
ably, an  opportunity  on  this  occasion  of  fighting  side 
by  side  with  some  of  his  adopted  brethren  of  the  Bear 
tribe,  as  we  are  told  he  was  much  exposed  during  the 
engagement  with  the  French  and  Indians,  and  that  two 
balls  grazed  his  hair.  A  military  errand,  afterwards, 
took  him  across  Lake  Erie,  and  down  the  northern 
branch  of  the  Ohio  to  Fort  Duquesne,  and  thence  by 
a  long  march  of  seven  hundred  miles  to  Crown  Point, 
where  he  joined  General  Amherst.  In  1760,  he  was 
among  the  forces  which  followed  that  general  from  Lake 
Ontario  down  the  St.  Lawrence ;  and  was  present  at 
the  surrender  of  Montreal,  which  completed  the  con- 
quest of  Canada. 

In  1762,  he  bore  a  colonel's  commission,  and 
served  under  Brigadier-general  Burgoyne  in  Portugal, 
where  he  was  intrusted  with  an  enterprise  against  a 
Spanish  post  at  the  old  Moorish  castle  of  Villa  Velha, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tagus.     He  forded  the  river  in 


1774.]        GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE.  415 

the  night,  pushed  his  way  through  mountain  passes, 
and  at  2  o'clock  in  the  morning,  rushed  with  his  gren- 
adiers into  the  enemy's  camp  before  daylight,  where 
every  thing  was  carried  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
assisted  by  a  charge  of  dragoons.  The  war  over,  he 
returned  to  England,  bearing  testimonials  of  bravery 
and  good  conduct  from  his  commander-in-chief,  the 
Count  de  la  Lippe,  and  from  the  king  of  Portugal.* 

Wielding  the  pen  as  well  as  the  sword,  Lee  under- 
took to  write  on  questions  of  colonial  policy,  relative 
to  Pontiac's  war,  in  which  he  took  the  opposition  side. 
This  lost  him  the  favor  of  the  ministry,  and  with  it  all 
hope  of  further  promotion. 

He  now  determined  to  offer  his  services  to  Poland, 
supposed  to  be  on  the  verge  of  a  war.  Recommenda- 
tions from  his  old  commander,  the  Count  de  la  Lippe, 
procured  him  access  to  some  of  the  continental  courts. 
He  was  well  received  by  Frederick  the  Great,  and  had 
several  conversations  with  him,  chiefly  on  American 
affairs.  At  Warsaw,  his  military  reputation  secured 
him  the  favor  of  Poniatowsky,  recently  elected  king  of 
Poland,  with  the  name  of  Stanislaus  Augustus,  who 
admitted  him  to  his  table,  and  made  him  one  of  his 
aides-de-camp.  Lee  was  disappointed  in  his  hope  of 
active  service.  There  was  agitation  in  the  country, 
but  the  power  of  the  king  was  not  adequate  to  raise 
forces  sufficient  for  its  suppression.  He  had  few  troops, 
and  those  not  trustworthy ;  and  the  town  was  full  of 
the  disaffected.    "  We  have  frequent  alarms,"  said  Lee, 

*  Life  of  Charles  Lee,  by  Jared  Sparks.     Also,  Memoirs  of  Charles 
Lee,   published  111  London,  1792. 


416  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

"  and  the  pleasure  of  sleeping  every  night  with  our 
pistols  on  our  pillows/' 

By  way  of  relieving  his  restlessness,  Lee,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  king,  set  off  to  accompany  the  Polish 
ambassador  to  Constantinople.  The  latter  travelled  too 
slow  for  him ;  so  he  dashed  ahead  when  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  Turkey,  with  an  escort  of  the  grand  seignior's 
treasure ;  came  near  perishing  with  cold  and  hunger 
among  the  Bulgarian  Mountains,  and  after  his  arrival 
at  the  Turkish  capital,  ran  a  risk  of  being  buried  under 
the  ruins  of  his  house  in  an  earthquake. 

Late  in  the  same  year  (1766),  he  was  again  in 
England,  an  applicant  for  military  appointment,  bear- 
ing a  letter  from  king  Stanislaus  to  king  George.  His 
meddling  pen  is  supposed  again  to  have  marred  his 
fortunes,  having  indulged  in  sarcastic  comments  on  the 
military  character  of  General  Townshend  and  Lord 
George  Sackville.  "  I  am  not  at  all  surprised,"  said  a 
friend  to  him,  "  that  you  find  the  door  shut  against  you 
by  a  person  who  has  such  unbounded  credit,  as  you 
have  ever  too  freely  indulged  in  a  liberty  of  declaiming, 
which  many  invidious  persons  have  not  failed  to  inform 
him  of.  The  principle  on  which  you  thus  freely  speak 
your  mind,  is  honest  and  patriotic,  but  not  politic.'' 

The  disappointments  which  Lee  met  with  during  a 
residence  of  two  years  in  England,  and  a  protracted 
attendance  on  people  in  power,  rankled  in  his  bosom, 
and  embittered  his  subsequent  resentment  against  the 
king  and  his  ministers. 

In  1768,  he  was  again  on  his  way  to  Poland,  with 
the  design  of  performing  a  campaign  in  the  Russian 
service.      "I  natter  myself,"  said  he,  "that  a  little 


1774]         GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE.  417 

more  practice  will  make  me  a  good  soldier.  If  not,  it 
will  serve  to  talk  over  my  kitchen  fire  in  my  old  age, 
which  will  soon  come  upon  us  all." 

He  now  looked  forward  to  spirited  service.  "I  am 
to  have  a  command  of  Cossacks  and  Wallacks,"  writes 
he,  "  a  kind  of  people  I  have  a  good  opinion  of.  I  am 
determined  not  to  serve  in  the  line.  One  might  as  well 
be  a  churchwarden." 

The  friendship  of  king  Stanislaus  continued.  "  He 
treats  me  more  like  a  brother  than  a  patron,"  said  Lee. 
In  1769,  the  latter  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  major-gen- 
eral in  the  Polish  army,  and  left  Warsaw  to  join  the 
Russian  force,  which  was  crossing  the  Dniester  and 
advancing  into  Moldavia.  He  arrived  in  time  to  take 
part  in  a  severe  action  between  the  Russians  and  Turks, 
in  which  the  Cossacks  and  hussars  were  terribly  cut  up 
by  the  Turkish  cavalry,  in  a  ravine  near  the  city  of 
Chotzim.  It  was  a  long  and  doubtful  conflict,  with 
various  changes;  but  the  rumored  approach  of  the 
grand  vizier,  with  a  hundred  and  seventy  thousand 
men,  compelled  the  Russians  to  abandon  the  enterprise 
and  recross  the  Dniester. 

Lee  never  returned  to  Poland,  though  he  ever  re- 
tained a  devoted  attachment  to  Stanislaus.  He  for 
some  time  led  a  restless  life  about  Europe — visiting 
Italy,  Sicily,  Malta,  and  the  south  of  Spain ;  troubled 
with  attacks  of  rheumatism,  gout,  and  the  effects  of  a 
"  Hungarian  fever."  He  had  become  more  and  more 
cynical  and  irascible,  and  had  more  than  one  "  affair  of 
honor,"  in  one  of  which  he  killed  his  antagonist.  His 
splenetic  feelings,  as  well  as  his  political  sentiments,  were 
occasionally  vented  in  severe  attacks  upon  the  ministry, 

vol.  i. — 27 


418  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

full  of  irony  and  sarcasm.  They  appeared  in  the  pub- 
lic journals,  and  gained  him  such  reputation,  that  even 
the  papers  of  Junius  were  by  some  attributed  to  him. 

In  the  questions  which  had  risen  between  England 
and  her  colonies,  he  had  strongly  advocated  the  cause 
of  the  latter ;  and  it  was  the  feelings  thus  excited,  and 
the  recollections,  perhaps,  of  his  early  campaigns,  that 
had  recently  brought  him  to  America.  Here  he  had 
arrived  in  the  latter  part  of  1773,  had  visited  various 
parts  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  political  agitations  of  the  country.  His 
caustic  attacks  upon  the  ministry;  his  conversational 
powers  and  his  poignant  sallies,  had  gained  him  great 
reputation ;  but  his  military  renown  rendered  him  espe- 
cially interesting  at  the  present  juncture.  A  general, 
who  had  served  in  the  famous  campaigns  of  Europe, 
commanded  Cossacks,  fought  with  Turks,  talked  with 
Frederick  the  Great,  and  been  aide-de-camp  to  the  king 
of  Poland,  was  a  prodigious  acquisition  to  the  patriot 
cause !  On  the  other  hand,  his  visit  to  Boston  was 
looked  upon  with  uneasiness  by  the  British  officers,  who 
knew  his  adventurous  character.  It  was  surmised  that 
he  was  exciting  a  spirit  of  revolt,  with  a  view  to  put- 
ting himself  at  its  head.  These  suspicions  found  their 
way  into  the  London  papers,  and  alarmed  the  British 
cabinet.  "  Have  an  attention  to  his  conduct,"  writes 
Lord  Dartmouth  to  Gage,  "  and  take  every  legal  method 
to  prevent  his  effecting  any  of  those  dangerous  pur- 
poses he  is  said  to  have  in  view." 

Lee,  when  subsequently  informed  of  these  suspi- 
cions, scoffed  at  them  in  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Edmund 


1774.]        PROVINCIAL    CONGRESS    AT    CONCORD.  419 

Burke,  and  declared  that  he  had  not  the  "  temerity  and 
vanity  "  to  aspire  to  the  aims  imputed  to  him. 

"  To  think  myself  qualified  for  the  most  important 
charge  that  ever  was  committed  to  mortal  man,"  writes 
he,  "  is  the  last  stage  of  presumption ;  nor  do  I  think 
the  Americans  would,  or  ought  to  confide  in  a  man,  let 
his  qualifications  be  ever  so  great,  who  has  no  property 
among  them.  It  is  true,  I  most  devoutly  wish  them 
success  in  the  glorious  struggle ;  that  I  have  expressed 
my  wishes  both  in  writing  and  viva  voce ;  but  my 
errand  to  Boston  was  mere  curiosity  to  see  a  people  in 
so  singular  circumstances ;  and  I  had  likewise  an  am- 
bition to  be  acquainted  with  some  of  their  leading 
men ;  with  them  only  I  associated  during  my  stay  in 
Boston.  Our  ingenious  gentlemen  in  the  camp,  there- 
fore, very  naturally  concluded  my  design  was  to  put 
myself  at  their  head." 

To  resume  the  course  of  events  at  Boston.  Gage, 
on  the  1st  of  September,  before  this  popular  agitation, 
had  issued  writs  for  an  election  of  an  Assembly  to  meet  at 
Salem  in  October ;  seeing,  however,  the  irritated  state 
of  the  public  mind,  he  now  countermanded  the  same 
by  proclamation.  The  people,  disregarding  the  coun- 
termand, carried  the  election  and  ninety  of  the  new 
members  thus  elected  met  at  the  appointed  time.  They 
waited  a  whole  day  for  the  governor  to  attend,  admin- 
ister the  oaths,  and  open  the  session ;  but  as  he  did 
not  make  his  appearance,  they  voted  themselves  a  pro- 
vincial Congress,  and  chose  for  president  of  it,  John 
Hancock, — a  man  of  great  wealth,  popular,  and  some- 
what showy  talents,  and  ardent  patriotism ;  and  emi- 
nent from  his  social  position. 


420  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

This  self-constituted  body  adjourned  to  Concord, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Boston ;  quietly  assumed  su- 
preme authority,  and  issued  a  remonstrance  to  the  gov- 
ernor, virtually  calling  him  to  account  for  his  military 
operations  in  fortifying  Boston  Neck,  and  collecting 
warlike  stores  about  him,  thereby  alarming  the  fears  of 
the  whole  province,  and  menacing  the  lives  and  property 
of  the  Bostonians. 

General  Gage,  overlooking  the  irregularity  of  its 
organization,  entered  into  explanations  with  the  Assem- 
bly, but  failed  to  give  satisfaction.  As  winter  ap- 
proached, he  found  his  situation  more  and  more  critical. 
Boston  was  the  only  place  in  Massachusetts  that  now 
contained  British  forces,  and  it  had  become  the  refuge 
of  all  the  "  tones  "  of  the  province :  that  is  to  say,  of 
all  those  devoted  to  the  British  government.  There 
was  animosity  between  them  and  the  principal  inhabi- 
tants, among  whom  revolutionary  principles  prevailed. 
The  town  itself,  almost  insulated  by  nature,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  hostile  country,  was  like  a  place  besieged. 

The  provincial  Congress  conducted  its  affairs  with 
the  order  and  system  so  formidable  to  General  Gage. 
Having  adopted  a  plan  for  organizing  the  militia,  it  had 
nominated  general  officers,  two  of  whom,  Artemas 
Ward  and  Seth  Pomeroy,  had  accepted. 

The  executive  powers  were  vested  in  a  committee 
of  safety.  This  was  to  determine  when  the  services  of 
the  militia  were  necessary ;  was  to  call  them  forth, — to 
nominate  their  officers  to  the  Congress, — to  commission 
them,  and  direct  the  operations  of  the  army.  Another 
committee  was  appointed  to  furnish  supplies  to  the 


1774.]  MILITARY    MOVEMENTS.  421 

forces  when  called  out ;  hence,  named  the  committee 
of  supplies. 

Under  such  auspices,  the  militia  went  on  arming 
and  disciplining  itself  in  every  direction.  They  asso- 
ciated themselves  in  large  bodies,  and  engaged,  verbally 
or  by  writing,  to  assemble  in  arms  at  the  shortest 
notice  for  the  common  defence,  subject  to  the  orders  of 
the  committee  of  safety. 

Arrangements  had  been  made  for  keeping  up  an 
active  correspondence  between  different  parts  of  the 
country,  and  spreading  an  alarm  in  case  of  any  threat- 
ening danger.  Under  the  direction  of  the  committees 
just  mentioned,  large  quantities  of  military  stores  had 
been  collected  and  deposited  at  Concord  and  Worces- 
ter. 

This  semi-belligerent  state  of  affairs  in  Massachu- 
setts produced  a  general  restlessness  throughout  the 
land.  The  weak-hearted  apprehended  coming  troubles : 
the  resolute  prepared  to  brave  them.  Military  mea- 
sures, hitherto  confined  to  New  England,  extended  to 
the  middle  and  southern  provinces,  and  the  roll  of  the 
drum  resounded  through  the  villages. 

Virginia  was  among  the  first  to  buckle  on  its  armor. 
It  had  long  been  a  custom  among  its  inhabitants  to 
form  themselves  into  independent  companies,  equipped 
at  their  own  expense,  having  their  own  peculiar  uni- 
form, and  electing  their  own  officers,  though  holding 
themselves  subject  to  militia  law.  They  had  hitherto 
been  self- disciplined ;  but  now  they  continually  resorted 
to  Washington  for  instruction  and  advice ;  considering 
him  the  highest  authority  on  military  affairs.  He  was 
frequently  called  from  home,  therefore,  in  the  course  of 


422  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1774 

the  winter  and  spring,  to  different  parts  of  the  country 
to  review  independent  companies ;  all  of  which  were 
anxious  to  put  themselves  under  his  command  as  field- 
officer. 

Mount  Vernon,  therefore,  again  assumed  a  military 
tone  as  in  former  days,  when  he  took  his  first  lessons 
there  in  the  art  of  Avar.  He  had  his  old  campaigning 
associates  with  him  occasionally,  Dr.  Craik  and  Captain 
Hugh  Mercer,  to  talk  of  past  scenes  and  discuss  the 
possibility  of  future  service.  Mercer  was  already  be- 
stirring himself  in  disciplining  the  militia  about  Fred- 
ericksburg, where  he  resided. 

Two  occasional  and  important  guests  at  Mount 
Vernon,  in  this  momentous  crisis,  were  General  Charles 
Lee,  of  whom  we  have  just  spoken,  and  Major  Horatio 
Gates.  As  the  latter  is  destined  to  occupy  an  impor- 
tant page  in  this  memoir,  we  will  give  a  few  particulars 
concerning  him.  He  was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  the 
son  of  a  captain  in  the  British  army.  Horace  Wal- 
pole,  whose  christian  name  he  bore,  speaks  of  him  in 
one  of  his  letters  as  his  godson,  though  some  have  in- 
sinuated that  he  stood  in  filial  relationship  of  a  less 
sanctified  character.  He  had  received  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, and,  when  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  had 
served  as  a  volunteer  under  General  Edward  Corn- 
wallis,  governor  of  Halifax.  He  was  afterwards  cap- 
tain of  a  New  York  independent  company,  with  which,  it 
may  be  remembered,  he  marched  in  the  campaign  of 
Braddock,  in  which  he  was  severely  wounded.  Eor 
two  or  three  subsequent  years  he  was  with  his  company 
in  the  western  part  of  the  province  of  New  York, 
receiving  the   appointment    of   brigade  major.      He 


1774.]  MAJOR   HORATIO    GATES.  423 

accompanied  General  Monckton  as  aide-de-camp  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  gained  credit  at  the  capture  of  Mar- 
tinico.  Being  despatched  to  London  with  tidings  of 
the  victory,  he  was  rewarded  by  the  appointment  of 
major  to  a  regiment  of'  foot;  and  afterwards,  as  a 
special  mark  of  royal  favor,  a  majority  in  the  Royal 
Americans.  His  promotion  did  not  equal  his  expecta- 
tions and  fancied  deserts.  He  was  married,  and  wanted 
something  more  lucrative  ;  so  he  sold  out  on  half-pay, 
and  became  an  applicant  for  some  profitable  post  under 
government,  which  he  hoped  to  obtain  through  the 
influence  of  General  Monckton  and  some  friends  m  the 
aristocracy*  Thus  several  years  were  passed,  partly 
with  his  family  in  retirement,  partly  in  London,  paying 
court  to  patrons  and  men  in  power,  until,  finding  there 
was  no  likelihood  of  success,  and  having  sold  his  com- 
mission and  half-pay,  he  emigrated  to  Virginia  in 
1772,  a  disappointed  man;  purchased  an  estate  in 
Berkeley  County,  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge;  espoused 
the  popular  cause,  and  renewed  his  old  campaigning 
acquaintance  with  Washington. 

He  was  now  about  forty-six  years  of  age,  of  a  florid 
complexion  and  goodly  presence,  though  a  little  inclined 
to  corpulency ;  social,  insinuating,  and  somewhat  spe- 
cious in  his  manners,  with  a  strong  degree  of  self- 
approbation.  A  long  course  of  solicitation ;  haunting 
public  offices  and  antechambers,  and  "  knocking  about 
town,"  had  taught  him,  it  was  said,  how  to  wheedle 
and  flatter,  and  accommodate  himself  to  the  humors  of 
others,  so  as  to  be  the  boon  companion  of  gentlemen, 
and  "  hail  fellow  well  met "  with  the  vulgar. 

Lee,  who  was  an  old  friend  and  former  associate  in 


424  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1774. 

arms,  had  recently  been  induced  by  him  to  purchase  an 
estate  in  his  neighborhood  in  Berkeley  County,  with  a 
view  to  making  it  his  abode,  having  a  moderate  com- 
petency, a  claim  to  land  on  the  Ohio,  and  the  half-pay 
of  a  British  colonel.  Both  of  these  officers,  disap- 
pointed in  the  British  service,  looked  forward  probably 
to  greater  success  in  the  patriot  cause. 

Lee  had  been  at  Philadelphia  since  his  visit  to  Bos- 
ton, and  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  leading 
members  of  Congress  during  the  session.  He  was 
evidently  cultivating  an  intimacy  with  every  one  likely 
to  have  influence  in  the  approaching  struggle. 

To  Washington  the  visits  of  these  gentlemen  were 
extremely  welcome  at  this  juncture,  from  their  military 
knowledge  and  experience,  especially  as  much  of  it  had 
been  acquired  in  America,  in  the  same  kind  of  warfare, 
if  not  the  very  same  campaigns  in  which  he  himself 
had  mingled,  Both  were  interested  in  the  popular 
cause.  Lee  was  full  of  plans  for  the  organization  and 
disciplining  of  the  militia,  and  occasionally  accompa- 
nied Washington  in  his  attendance  on  provincial  re- 
views. He  was  subsequently  very  efficient  at  Annapo- 
lis in  promoting  and  superintending  the  organization 
of  the  Maryland  militia. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  visits  of  Lee  were  as 
interesting  to  Mrs.  Washington  as  to  the  general.  He 
was  whimsical,  eccentric,  and  at  times  almost  rude ; 
negligent  also,  and  slovenly  in  person  and  attire ;  for 
though  he  had  occasionally  associated  with  kings  and 
princes,  he  had  also  campaigned  with  Mohawks  and 
Cossacks,  and  seems  to  have  relished  their  "good 
breeding."     What  was  still  more  annoying  in  a  well 


1775.]  PATRICK   HENRY.  425 

regulated  mansion,  lie  was  always  followed  by  a  legion 
of  dogs,  which  shared  his  affections  with  his  horses, 
and  took  their  seats  by  him  when  at  table.  "  I  must 
have  some  object  to  embrace,"  said  he  misanthropically. 
"  When  I  can  be  convinced  that  men  are  as  worthy 
objects  as  dogs,  I  shall  transfer  my  benevolence,  and 
become  as  stanch  a  philanthropist  as  the  canting 
Addison  affected  to  be."  * 

In  his  passion  for  horses  and  dogs,  Washington,  to 
a  certain  degree,  could  sympathize  with  him,  and  had 
noble  specimens  of  both  in  his  stable  and  kennel, 
which  Lee  doubtless  inspected  with  a  learned  eye. 
During  the  season  in  question,  Washington,  according 
to  his  diary,  was  occasionally  in  the  saddle  at  an  early 
hour  following  the  fox-hounds.  It  was  the  last  time 
for  many  a  year  that  he  was  to  gallop  about  his  beloved 
hunting-grounds  of  Mount  Vernon  and  Belvoir. 

In  the  month  of  March  the  second  Virginia  Con- 
vention was  held  at  Richmond.  Washington  attended 
as  delegate  from  Fairfax  County.  In  this  assembly, 
Patrick  Henry,  with  his  usual  ardor  and  eloquence, 
advocated  measures  for  embodying,  arming  and  disci- 
plining a  militia  force,  and  providing  for  the  defence  of 
the  colony.  "  It  is  useless,"  said  he,  "  to  address  fur- 
ther petitions  to  government,  or  to  await  the  effect  of 
those  already  addressed  to  the  throne.  The  time  for 
supplication  is  past;  the  time  for  action  is  at  hand. 
We  must  fight,  Mr.  Speaker,"  exclaimed  he  emphati- 
cally; "  I  repeat  it,  sir,  we  must  fight !  An  appeal  to 
arms,  and  to  the  God  of  Hosts,  is  all  that  is  left  us !  " 

*  Lee  to  Adams.     Life  and  Works  of  Adams,  ii.,  414. 


426  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775, 

Washington  joined  him  in  the  conviction,  and  was 
one  of  a  committee  that  reported  a  plan  for  carrying 
those  measures  into  effect.  He  was  not  an  impulsive 
man  to  raise  the  battle  cry,  but  the  executive  man  to 
marshal  the  troops  into  the  field,  and  carry  on  the  war. 

His  brother,  John  Augustine,  was  raising  and  dis- 
ciplining an  independent  company ;  Washington  offered 
to  accept  the  command  of  it,  should  occasion  require  it 
to  be  drawn  out.  He  did  the  same  with  respect  to  an 
independent  company  at  Richmond.  "It  is  my  full 
intention,  if  needful,"  writes  he  to  his  brother,  "  to 
devote  my  life  and  fortune  to  the  cause!'  * 

*  Letter  to  John  Augustine.    Sparks,  ii.,  405. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

INFATUATION  IN  BRITISH  COUNCILS — COLONEL  GBANT,  THE  BEAGGAET — 
COEECIVE  MEASUEES — EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  MILITAET  MAGAZINE 
AT  CONCOED — BATTLE  OF  LEXINGTON — THE  GET  OF  BLOOD  THEOUGH 
THE  LAND — OLD  SOLDIEES  OF  THE  FEENOH  WAE — JOHN  STAEE — 
ISEAEL  PUTNAM — EISING  OF  THE  TEOMANEY — MEASUEES  OF  LOED 
DUNMORE  IN  VIRGINIA — INDIGNATION  OF  THE  VIEGINIANS — HUGH 
MEECEE  AND  THE  FEIENDS  OF  LIBEETT — AEEIVAL  OF  THE  NEWS  OF 
LEXINGTON  AT  MOUNT  VEENON — EFFECT  ON  BEYAN  FAIRFAX,  GATES, 
AND   WASHINGTON. 

While  the  spirit  of  revolt  was  daily  gaining  strength 
and  determination  in  America,  a  strange  infatuation 
reigned  in  the  British  councils.  While  the  wisdom  and 
eloquence  of  Chatham  were  exerted  in  vain  in  behalf 
of  American  rights,  an  empty  braggadocio,  elevated  to 
a  seat  in  Parliament,  was  able  to  captivate  the  attention 
of  the  members,  and  influence  their  votes  by  gross  mis- 
representations of  the  Americans  and  their  cause.  This 
was  no  other  than  Colonel  Grant,  the  same  shallow 
soldier  who,  exceeding  his  instructions,  had  been  guilty 
of  a  foolhardy  bravado  before  the  walls  of  Port  Du- 
quesne,  which  brought  slaughter  and  defeat  upon  his 
troops.  Prom  misleading  the  army,  he  was  now  pro- 
moted to  a  station  where  he  might  mislead  the  councils 
of  his  country.     We  are  told  that  he  entertained  Par- 


428  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

liament,  especially  the  ministerial  side  of  the  House, 
with  ludicrous  stories  of  the  cowardice  of  Americans. 
He  had  served  with  them,  he  said,  and  knew  them 
well,  and  would  venture  to  say  they  would  never  dare 
to  face  an  English  army ;  that  they  were  destitute  of 
every  requisite  to  make  good  soldiers,  and  that  a  very 
slight  force  would  be  sufficient  for  their  complete  re- 
duction. With  five  regiments,  he  could  march  through 
all  America ! 

How  often  has  England  been  misled  to  her  cost  by 
such  slanderous  misrepresentations  of  the  American 
character!  Grant  talked  of  having  served  with  the 
Americans ;  had  he  already  forgotten  that  in  the  field 
of  Braddock's  defeat,  when  the  British  regulars  fled,  it 
was  alone  the  desperate  stand  of  a  handful  of  Virgin- 
ians, which  covered  their  disgraceful  flight,  and  saved 
them  from  being  overtaken  and  massacred  by  the  sav- 
ages ? 

This  taunting  and  braggart  speech  of  Grant  was 
made  in  the  face  of  the  conciliatory  bill  of  the  venera- 
ble Chatham,  devised  with  a  view  to  redress  the  wrongs 
of  America.  The  counsels  of  the  arrogant  and  scorn- 
ful prevailed ;  and  instead  of  the  proposed  bill,  further 
measures  of  a  stringent  nature  were  adopted,  coercive 
of  some  of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  but  ruin- 
ous to  the  trade  and  fisheries  of  New  England. 

At  length  the  bolt,  so  long  suspended,  fell !  The 
troops  at  Boston  had  been  augmented  to  about  four 
thousand  men.  Goaded  on  by  the  instigations  of  the 
tories,  and  alarmed  by  the  energetic  measures  of  the 
whigs,  General  Gage  now  resolved  to  deal  the  latter  a 
crippling  blow.     This  was  to  surprise  and  destroy  their 


1775.]     DESIGN  ON  THE  MAGAZINE  AT  CONCORD.         429 

magazine  of  military  stores  at  Concord,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Boston.  It  was  to  be  effected  in  the  night 
of  the  18th  of  April,  by  a  force  detached  for  the  pur- 
pose. 

Preparations  were  made  with  great  secrecy.  Boats 
for  the  transportation  of  the  troops  were  launched,  and 
moored  under  the  sterns  of  the  men-of-war.  Grena- 
diers and  light  infantry  were  relieved  from  duty,  and 
held  in  readiness.  On  the  18th,  officers  were  stationed 
on  the  roads  leading  from  Boston,  to  prevent  any  intel- 
ligence of  the  expedition  getting  into  the  country.  At 
night  orders  were  issued  by  General  Gage  that  no  per- 
son should  leave  the  town.  About  ten  o'clock,  from 
eight  to  nine  hundred  men,  grenadiers,  light  infantry, 
and  marines,  commanded  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Smith, 
embarked  in  the  boats  at  the  foot  of  Boston  Common, 
and  crossed  to  Lechmere  Point,  in  Cambridge,  whence 
they  were  to  march  silently,  and  without  beat  of  drum, 
to  the  place  of  destination. 

The  measures  of  General  Gage  had  not  been 
shrouded  in  all  the  secrecy  he  imagined.  Mystery 
often  defeats  itself  by  the  suspicions  it  awakens.  Dr. 
Joseph  Warren,  one  of  the  committee  of  safety,  had 
observed  the  preparatory  disposition  of  the  boats  and 
troops,  and  surmised  some  sinister  intention.  He  sent 
notice  of  these  movements  to  John  Hancock  and  Sam- 
uel Adams,  both  members  of  provincial  Congress,  but 
at  that  time  privately  sojourning  with,  a  friend  at  Lex- 
ington. A  design  on  the  magazine  at  Concord  was 
suspected,  and  the  committee  of  safety  ordered  that  the 
cannon  collected  there  should  be  secreted,  and  part  of 
the  stores  removed. 


430  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

On  the  night  of  the  18th,  Dr.  Warren  sent  off  two 
messengers  by  different  routes,  to  give  the  alarm  that 
the  king's  troops  were  actually  sallying  forth.  The 
messengers  got  out  of  Boston  just  before  the  order  of 
General  Gage  went  into  effect,  to  prevent  any  one  from 
leaving  the  town.  About  the  same  time  a  lantern  was 
hung  out  of  an  upper  window  of  the  north  church,  in 
the  direction  of  Charlestown.  This  was  a  preconcerted 
signal  to  the  patriots  of  that  place,  who  instantly  des- 
patched swift  messengers  to  rouse  the  country. 

In  the  mean  time,  Colonel  Smith  set  out  on  his 
nocturnal  march  from  Lechmere  Point,  by  an  unfre- 
quented path  across  marshes,  where  at  times  the  troops 
had  to  wade  through  water.  He  had  proceeded  but  a 
few  miles  when  alarm  guns,  booming  through  the  night 
air,  and  the  clang  of  village  bells,  showed  that  the 
news  of  his  approach  was  travelling  before  him,  and 
the  people  were  rising.  He  now  sent  back  to  General 
Gage  for  a  reinforcement,  while  Major  Pitcairn  was 
detached  with  six  companies  to  press  forward,  and  se- 
cure the  bridges  at  Concord. 

Pitcairn  advanced  rapidly,  capturing  every  one 
that  he  met,  or  overtook.  Within  a  mile  and  a  half  of 
Lexington,  however,  a  horseman  was  too  quick  on  the 
spur  for  him,  and  galloping  to  the  village,  gave  the 
alarm  that  the  redcoats  were  coming.  Drums  were 
beaten;  guns  fired.  By  the  time  that  Pitcairn  en- 
tered the  village,  about  seventy  or  eighty  of  the  yeo- 
manry, in  military  array,  were  mustered  on  the  green 
near  the  church.  It  was  a  part  of  the  "  constitutional 
army,"  pledged  to  resist  by  force  any  open  hostility  of 


1775.J  A   DISASTROUS    TRIUMPH.  431 

British  troops.  Besides  these,  there  were  a  number  of 
lookers  on,  armed  and  unarmed. 

The  sound  of  drum,  and  the  array  of  men  in  arms, 
indicated  a  hostile  determination.  Pitcairn  halted  his 
men  within  a  short  distance  of  the  church,  and  ordered 
them  to  prime  and  load.  They  then  advanced  at  double 
quick  time.  The  major,  riding  forward,  waved  his 
sword,  and  ordered  the  rebels,  as  he  termed  them,  to 
disperse.  Other  of  the  officers  echoed  his  words  as 
they  advanced :  "  Disperse,  ye  villains  !  Lay  down 
your  arms,  ye  rebels,  and  disperse !  "  The  orders  were 
disregarded.  A  scene  of  confusion  ensued,  with  firing 
on  both  sides ;  which  party  commenced  it,  has  been  a 
matter  of  dispute.  Pitcairn  always  maintained  that, 
finding  the  militia  would  not  disperse,  he  turned  to 
order  his  men  to  draw  out,  and  surround  them,  when 
he  saw  a  flash  in  the  pan  from  the  gun  of  a  countryman 
posted  behind  a  wall,  and  almost  instantly  the  report 
of  two  or  three  muskets.  These  he  supposed  to  be 
from  the  Americans,  as  his  horse  was  wounded,  as  was 
also  a  soldier  close  by  him.  His  troops  rushed  on,  and 
a  promiscuous  fire  took  place,  though,  as  he  declared, 
he  made  repeated  signals  with  his  sword  for  his  men  to 
forbear. 

The  firing  of  the  Americans  was  irregular,  and 
without  much  effect;  that  of  the  British  was  more 
fatal.  Eight  of  the  patriots  were  killed,  and  ten 
wounded,  and  the  whole  put  to  flight.  The  victors 
formed  on  the  common,  fired  a  volley,  and  gave  three 
cheers  for  one  of  the  most  inglorious  and  disastrous 
triumphs  ever  achieved  by  British  arms. 

Colonel  Smith  soon  arrived  with  the  residue  of  the 


432  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

detachment,  and  they  all  marched  on  towards  Concord, 
about  six  miles  distant. 

The  alarm  had  reached  that  place  in  the  dead  hour 
of  the  preceding  night.  The  church  bell  roused  the 
inhabitants.  They  gathered  together  in  anxious  con- 
sultation. The  militia  and  minute  men  seized  their 
arms,  and  repaired  to  the  parade  ground,  near  the 
church.  Here  they  were  subsequently  joined  by  armed 
yeomanry  from  Lincoln,  and  elsewhere.  Exertions  were 
now  made  to  remove  and  conceal  the  military  stores. 
A  scout,  who  had  been  sent  out  for  intelligence, 
brought  word  that  the  British  had  fired  upon  the 
people  at  Lexington,  and  were  advancing  upon  Con- 
cord. There  was  great  excitement  and  indignation. 
Part  of  the  militia  marched  down  the  Lexington  road 
to  meet  them,  but  returned,  reporting  their  force  to  be 
three  times  that  of  the  Americans.  The  whole  of  the 
militia  now  retired  to  an  eminence  about  a  mile  from 
the  centre  of  the  town,  and  formed  themselves  into  two 
battalions. 

About  seven  o'clock,  the  British  came  in  sight,  ad- 
vancing with  quick  step,  their  arms  glittering  in  the 
morning  sun.  They  entered  in  two  divisions  by  differ- 
ent roads.  Concord  is  traversed  by  a  river  of  the  same 
name,  having  two  bridges,  the  north  and  the  south. 
The  grenadiers  and  light  infantry  took  post  in  the 
centre  of  the  town,  while  strong  parties  of  light  troops 
were  detached  to  secure  the  bridges,  and  destroy  the 
military  stores.  Two  hours  were  expended  in  the  work 
of  destruction  without  much  success,  so  much  of  the 
stores  having  been  removed,  or  concealed.  During  all 
this  time  the  yeomanry  from  the  neighboring  towns 


1775.]  RETALIATION.  433 

were  hurrying  in  with  such  weapons  as  were  at  hand, 
and  joining  the  militia  on  the  height,  until  the  little 
cloud  of  war  gathering  there  numbered  about  four 
hundred  and  fifty. 

About  ten  o'clock,  a  body  of  three  hundred  under- 
took to  dislodge  the  British  from  the  north  bridge. 
As  they  approached,  the  latter  fired  upon  them,  killing 
two,  and  wounding  a  thud.  The  patriots  returned  the 
fire  with  spirit  and  effect.  The  British  retreated  to  the 
main  body,  the  Americans  pursuing  them  across  the 
bridge. 

By  this  time  all  the  military  stores  which  could  be 
found  had  been  destroyed;  Colonel  Smith,  therefore, 
made  preparations  for  a  retreat.  The  scattered  troops 
were  collected,  the  dead  were  buried,  and  conveyances 
procured  for  the  wounded.  About  noon  he  commenced 
his  retrograde  march  for  Boston.  It  was  high  time. 
His  troops  were  jaded  by  the  night  march,  and  the 
morning's  toils  and  skirmishings. 

The  country  was  thoroughly  alarmed.  The  yeor 
manry  were  hurrying  from  every  quarter  to  the  scene 
of  action.  As  the  British  began  their  retreat,  the 
Americans  began  the  work  of  sore  and  galling  retalia- 
tion. Along  the  open  road,  the  former  were  harassed 
incessantly  by  rustic  marksmen,  who  took  deliberate 
aim  from  behind  trees,  or  over  stone  fences.  Where 
the  road  passed  through  woods,  the  British  found 
themselves  between  two  fires,  dealt  by  unseen  foes,  the 
minute  men  having  posted  themselves  on  each  side 
among  the  bushes.  It  was  in  vain  they  threw  out 
flankers,  and  endeavored  to  dislodge  their  assailants  j 
each  pause  gave  time  for  other  pursuers  to  come  within 

vol.  i.— 28 


434  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

reach,  and  open  attacks  from  different  quarters.  Poi 
several  miles  they  urged  their  way  along  woody  defiles, 
or  roads  skirted  with  fences  and  stone  walls,  the  retreat 
growing  more  and  more  disastrous;  some  were  shot 
down,  some  gave  out  through  mere  exhaustion;  the 
rest  hurried  on  without  stopping  to  aid  the  fatigued,  or 
wounded.  Before  reaching  Lexington,  Colonel  Smith 
received  a  severe  wound  in  the  leg,  and  the  situation 
of  the  retreating  troops  was  becoming  extremely  criti- 
cal, when,  about  two  o'clock,  they  were  met  by  Lord 
Percy,  with  a  brigade  of  one  thousand  men,  and  two 
field-pieces.  His  lordship  had  been  detached  from 
Boston  about  nine  o'clock  by  General  Gage,  in  compli- 
ance with  Colonel  Smith's  urgent  call  for  a  reinforce- 
ment, and  had  marched  gaily  through  Boxbury  to  the 
tune  of  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  in  derision  of  the  "  rebels." 
He  now  found  the  latter  a  more  formidable  foe  than  he 
had  anticipated.  Opening  his  brigade  to  the  right  and 
left,  he  received  the  retreating  troops  into  a  hollow 
square  ;  where,  fainting  and  exhausted,  they  threw 
themselves  on  the  ground  to  rest.  His  lordship  showed 
no  disposition  to  advance  upon  the  assailants,  but  con- 
tented himself  with  keeping  them  at  bay  with  his  field- 
pieces,  which  opened  a  vigorous  fire  from  an  eminence. 
Hitherto  the  Provincials,  being  hasty  levies,  without 
a  leader,  had  acted  from  individual  impulse,  without 
much  concert ;  but  now  General '  Heath  was  upon  the 
ground.  He  was  one  of  those  authorized  to  take  com- 
mand when  the  minute  men  should  be  called  out. 
That  class  of  combatants  promptly  obeyed  his  orders, 
and  he  was  efficacious  in  rallying  them,  and  bringing 


1775.]  THE    CHASE.  435 

them  into  military  order,  when  checked  and  scattered 
by  the  fire  of  the  field-pieces. 

Dr.  Warren,  also,  arrived  on  horseback,  having 
spurred  from  Boston  on  receiving  news  of  the  skir- 
mishing. In  the  subsequent  part  of  the  day,  he  was 
one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient  men  in  the  field. 
His  presence,  like  that  of  General  Heath,  regulated 
the  infuriated  ardor  of  the  militia,  and  brought  it  into 
system. 

Lord  Percy,  having  allowed  the  troops  a  short  in- 
terval for  repose  and  refreshment,  continued  the  retreat 
toward  Boston.  As  soon  as  he  got  under  march,  the 
galling  assault  by  the  pursuing  yeomanry  was  recom- 
menced in  flank  and  rear.  The  British  soldiery,  irrita- 
ted in  turn,  acted  as  if  in  an  enemy's  country.  Houses 
and  shops  were  burnt  down  in  Lexington;  private 
dwellings  along  the  road  were  plundered,  and  their 
inhabitants  maltreated.  In  one  instance,  an  unof- 
fending invalid  was  wantonly  slain  in  his  own  house. 
All  this  increased  the  exasperation  of  the  yeomanry. 
There  was  occasional  sharp  skirmishing,  with  blood- 
shed on  both  sides,  but  in  general  a  dogged  pursuit, 
where  the  retreating  troops  were  galled  at  every  step. 
Their  march  became  more  and  more  impeded  by  the 
number  of  their  wounded.  Lord  Percy  narrowly 
escaped  death  from  a  musket-ball,  which  struck  off  a 
button  of  his  waistcoat.  One  of  his  officers  remained 
behind  wounded  in  West  Cambridge.  His  ammuni- 
tion was  failing  as  he  approached  Charlestown.  The 
Provincials  pressed  upon  him  in  rear,  others  were  ad- 
vancing from  Boxbury,  Dorchester,  and  Milton ;  Colonel 
Pickering,  with  the  Essex  militia,  seven  hundred  strong, 


436  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

was  at  hand ;  there  was  danger  of  being  intercepted  in 
the  retreat  to  Charlestown.  The  field-pieces  were  again 
brought  into  play,  to  check  the  ardor  of  the  pursuit ; 
but  they  were  no  longer  objects  of  terror.  The  sharpest 
firing  of  the  Provincials  was  near  Prospect  Hill,  as  the 
harassed  enemy  hurried  along  the  Charlestown  road, 
eager  to  reach  the  Neck,  and  get  under  cover  of  their 
ships.  The  pursuit  terminated  a  little  after  sunset,  at 
Charlestown  Common,  where  General  Heath  brought 
the  minute  men  to  a  halt.  Within  half  an  hour  more, 
a  powerful  body  of  men,  from  Marblehead  and  Salem, 
came  up  to  join  the  chase.  "  If  the  retreat,"  writes 
Washington,  "  had  not  been  as  precipitate  as  it  was, — 
and  God  knows  it  could  not  well  have  been  more  so, — 
the  ministerial  troops  must  have  surrendered,  or  been 
totally  cut  off." 

The  distant  firing  from  the  mainland  had  reached 
the  British  at  Boston.  The  troops  which,  in  the  morn- 
ing, had  marched  through  Roxbury,  to  the  tune  of 
Yankee  Doodle,  might  have  been  seen  at  sunset, 
hounded  along  the  old  Cambridge  road  to  Charlestown 
Neck,  by  mere  armed  yeomanry.  Gage  was  astounded 
at  the  catastrophe.  It  was  but  a  short  time  previous, 
that  one  of  his  officers,  in  writing  to  friends  in  Eng- 
land, scoffed  at  the  idea  of  the  Americans  taking  up 
arms.  "Whenever  it  comes  to  blows,"  said  he,  "he 
that  can  run  the  fastest,  will  think  himself  well  off, 
believe  me.  Any  two  regiments  here  ought  to  be 
decimated,  if  they  did  not  beat  in  the  field  the  whole 
force  of  the  Massachusetts  province."  How  frequent- 
ly, throughout  this  Revolution,  had  the  English  to  pay 


1775.]  JOHN    STARK.  437 

the  penalty  of  thus  undervaluing  the  spirit  they  were 
provoking ! 

In  this  memorable  affair,  the  British  loss  was 
seventy-three  killed,  one  hundred  and  seventy-four 
wounded,  and  twenty-six  missing.  Among  the  slain 
were  eighteen  officers.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was 
forty-nine  killed,  thirty-nine  wounded,  and  five  miss- 
ing. This  was  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  revolutionary- 
struggle  ;  a  mere  drop  in  amount,  but  a  deluge  in  its 
effects, — rending  the  colonies  for  ever  from  the  mother 
country. 

The  cry  of  blood  from  the  field  of  Lexington,  went 
through  the  land.  None  felt  the  appeal  more  than  the 
old  soldiers  of  the  French  war.  It  roused  John  Stark, 
of  New  Hampshire — a  trapper  and  hunter  in  his 
youth,  a  veteran  in  Indian  warfare,  a  campaigner  under 
Abercrombie  and  Amherst,  now  the  military  oracle  of 
a  rustic  neighborhood.  Within  ten  minutes  after  re- 
ceiving the  alarm,  he  was  spurring  towards  the  sea- 
coast,  and  on  the  way  stirring  up  the  volunteers  of  the 
Massachusetts  borders,  to  assemble  forthwith  at  BedA 
ford,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston. 

Equally  alert  was  his  old  comrade  in  frontier  ex- 
ploits, Colonel  Israel  Putnam.  A  man  on  horseback, 
with  a  drum,  passed  through  his  neighborhood  in  Con- 
necticut, proclaiming  British  violence  at  Lexington. 
Putnam  was  in  the  field  ploughing,  assisted  by  his  son. 
In  an  instant  the  team  was  unyoked ;  the  plough  left 
in  the  furrow  j  the  lad  sent  home  to  give  word  of  his 
father's  departure ;  and  Putnam,  on  horseback,  in  his 
working  garb,  urging  with  all  speed  to  the  camp.  Such 
was  the  spirit  aroused  throughout  the  country.     The 


438  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

sturdy  yeomanry,  from  all  parts,  were  hastening  toward 
Boston  with  such  weapons  as  were  at  hand ;  and  happy 
was  he  who  could  command  a  rusty  fowling-piece  and 
a  powder-horn. 

The  news  reached  Virginia  at  a  critical  moment. 
Lord  Dunmore,  obeying  a  general  order  issued  by  the 
ministry  to  all  the  provincial  governors,  had  seized 
upon  the  military  munitions  of  the  province.  Here 
was  a  similar  measure  to  that  of  Gage.  The  cry  went 
forth  that  the  subjugation  of  the  colonies  was  to  be 
attempted.  All  Virginia  was  in  combustion.  The 
standard  of  liberty  was  reared  in  every  county ;  there 
was  a  general  cry  to  arms.  Washington  was  looked 
to,  from  various  quarters,  to  take  command.  His  old 
comrade  in  arms,  Hugh  Mercer,  was  about  marching 
down  to  Williamsburg  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  reso- 
lute men,  seven  hundred  strong,  entitled  "  The  friends 
of  constitutional  liberty  in  America,"  whom  he  had 
organized  and  drilled  in  Fredericksburg,  and  nothing 
but  a  timely  concession  of  Lord  Dunmore,  with  respect 
to  some  powder  which  he  had  seized,  prevented  his 
being  beset  in  his  palace. 

Before  Hugh  Mercer  and  the  Friends  of  Liberty 
disbanded  themselves,  they  exchanged  a  mutual  pledge 
to  reassemble  at  a  moment's  warning,  whenever  called 
on  to  defend  the  liberty  and  rights  of  this  or  any  other 
sister  colony. 

Washington  was  at  Mount  Vernon,  preparing  to 
set  out  for  Philadelphia  as  a  delegate  to  the  second 
Congress,  when  he  received  tidings  of  the  affair  at 
Lexington.  Bryan  Fairfax  and  Major  Horatio  Gates, 
were  his  guests  at  the  time.     They  all  regarded  the 


1775.]       DIFFERENT   EFFECTS    OF    THE    TIDINGS.  439 

event  as  decisive  in  its  consequences ;  but  they  regard- 
ed it  with  different  feelings.  The  worthy  and  gentle- 
spirited  Fairfax  deplored  it  deeply.  He  foresaw  that  it 
must  break  up  all  his  pleasant  relations  in  life  ;  array- 
ing his  dearest  friends  against  the  government  to 
which,  notwithstanding  the  errors  of  its  policy,  he  was 
loyally  attached  and  resolved  to  adhere. 

Gates,  on  the  contrary,  viewed  it  with  the  eye  of  a 
soldier  and  a  -place-hunter — hitherto  disappointed  in 
both  capacities.  This  event  promised  to  open  a  new 
avenue  to  importance  and  command,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  enter  upon  it. 

Washington's  feelings  were  of  a  mingled  nature. 
They  may  be  gathered  from  a  letter  to  his  friend  and 
neighbor,  George  William  Fairfax,  then  in  England,  in 
which  he  lays  the  blame  of  this  "  deplorable  affair  "  on 
the  ministry  and  their  military  agents ;  and  concludes 
with  the  following  words,  in  which  the  yearnings  of  the 
patriot  give  affecting  solemnity  to  the  implied  resolve 
of  the  soldier :  "  Unhappy  it  is  to  reflect  that  a  broth- 
er's sword  has  been  sheathed  in  a  brother's  breast; 
and  that  the  once  happy  and  peaceful  plains  of  Ame- 
rica are  to  be  either  drenched  with  blood  or  inhabited 
by  slaves.  Sad  alternative  !  But  can  a  virtuous  man 
hesitate  in  Ids  choice  ?  " 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

ENLISTING  OF  TEOOPS  IN  THE  EAST CAMP  AT  BOSTON — GENEEAL  AETEMAS 

WAED — SCHEME  TO  SUEPEISE  TICONDEEOGA — NEW  nAMPSHIEE  GEANTS 
— ETHAN  ALLEN  AND  THE  GEEEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS — BENEDICT  AENOLD 
— APFAIE  OF  TICONDEEOGA  AND  CEOWN  POINT — A  DASH  AT  ST.  JOHN'S. 

At  the  eastward,  the  march  of  the  Revolution  went  on ' 
with  accelerated  speed.  Thirty  thousand  men  had 
been  deemed  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  country. 
The  provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  resolved  to 
raise  thirteen  thousand  six  hundred,  as  its  quota.  Cir- 
cular letters,  also,  were  issued  by  the  committee  of 
safety,  urging  the  towns  to  enlist  troops  with  all  speed, 
and  calling  for  military  aid  from  the  other  New  Eng- 
land provinces. 

Their  appeals  were  promptly  answered.  Bodies  of 
militia,  and  parties  of  volunteers  from  New  Hamp- 
shire, Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut,  hastened  to  join 
the  minute  men  of  Massachusetts  in  forming  a  camp 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston.  With  the  troops  of 
Connecticut,  came  Israel  Putnam ;  having  recently 
raised  a  regiment  in  that  province,  and  received  from 
its   Assembly  the    commission    of   brigadier-general. 


1775.]  GENERAL   ARTEMAS   WARD.  441 

Some  of  his  old  comrades  in  French  and  Indian  war- 
fare, had  hastened  to  join  his  standard.  Such  were 
two  of  his  captains,  Durkee  and  Knowlton.  The  lat- 
ter, who  was  his  especial  favorite,  had  fought  by  his 
side  when  a  mere  boy. 

The  command  of  the  camp  was  given  to  General 
Artemas  Ward,  already  mentioned.  He  was  a  native 
of  Shrewsbury,  in  Massachusetts,  and  a  veteran  of  the 
seven  years'  war — having  served  as  lieutenant-colonel 
under  Abercrombie.  He  had,  likewise,  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislative  bodies,  and  had  recently  been 
made,  by  the  provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts, 
commander-in-chief  of  its  forces. 

As  affairs  were  now  drawing  to  a  crisis,  and  war 
was  considered  inevitable,  some  bold  spirits  in  Con- 
necticut conceived  a  project  for  the  outset.  This  was 
the  surprisal  of  the  old  forts  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  already  famous  in  the  French  war.  Their  situa- 
tion on  Lake  Champlain,  gave  them  the  command  of 
the  main  route  to  Canada ;  so  that  the  possession  of 
them  would  be  all-important  in  case  of  hostilities. 
They  were  feebly  garrisoned  and  negligently  guarded, 
and  abundantly  furnished  with  artillery  and  military 
stores,  so  much  needed  by  the  patriot  army. 

This  scheme  was  set  on  foot  in  the  purlieus,  as  it 
were,  of  the  provincial  Legislature  of  Connecticut,  then 
in  session.  It  was  not  openly  sanctioned  by  that  body, 
but  secretly  favored,  and  money  lent  from  the  treasury 
to  those  engaged  in  it.  A  committee  was  appointed, 
also,  to  accompany  them  to  the  frontier,  aid  them  in 
raising  troops,  and  exercise  over  them  a  degree  of  su- 
perintendence and  control. 


442  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

Sixteen  men  were  thus  enlisted  in  Connecticut,  a 
greater  number  in  Massachusetts,  but  the  greatest  acces- 
sion of  force  was  from  what  was  called  the  "  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants."  This  was  a  region  having  the  Connecticut 
River  on  one  side,  and  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hud- 
son River  on  the  other — being,  in  fact,  the  country 
forming  the  present  State  of  Vermont.  It  had  long 
been  a  disputed  territory,  claimed  by  New  York  and 
New  Hampshire.  George  II.  had  decided  in  favor  of 
New  York ;  but  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire  had 
made  grants  of  between  one  and  two  hundred  town- 
ships in  it,  whence  it  had  acquired  the  name  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Grants.  The  settlers  on  those  grants 
resisted  the  attempts  of  New  York  to  eject  them,  and 
formed  themselves  into  an  association,  called  "The 
Green  Mountain  Boys."  Resolute,  strong-handed  fel- 
lows they  were,  with  Ethan  Allen  at  their  head;  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  but  brought  up  among  the 
Green  Mountains.  He  and  his  lieutenants,  Seth  War- 
ner and  Remember  Baker,  were  outlawed  by  the  Leg- 
islature of  New  York,  and  rewards  offered  for  their 
apprehension.  They  and  their  associates  armed  them- 
selves, set  New  York  at  defiance,  and  swore  they  would 
be  the  death  of  any  one  who  should  attempt  their 
arrest. 

Thus  Ethan  Allen  was  becoming  a  kind  of  Robin 
Hood  among  the  mountains,  when  the  present  crisis 
changed  the  relative  position  of  things  as  if  by  magic. 
Boundary  feuds  were  forgotten  amid  the  great  ques- 
tions of  colonial  rights.  Ethan  Allen  at  once  stepped 
forward,  a  patriot,  and  volunteered  with  his  Green 
Mountain  Boys  to  serve  in  the  popular  cause.     He  was 


1775.]  BENEDICT    ARNOLD.  443 

well  fitted  for  the  enterprise  in  question,  by  his  experi- 
ence as  a  frontier  champion,  his  robustness  of  mind 
and  body,  and  his  fearless  spirit.  He  had  a  kind  of 
rough  eloquence,  also,  that  was  very  effective  with  his 
followers.  "  His  style,"  says  one,  who  knew  him 
personally,  "  was  a  singular  compound  of  local  barba- 
risms, scriptural  phrases,  and  oriental  wildness;  and 
though  unclassic,  and  sometimes  ungrammatical,  was 
highly  animated  and  forcible."  Washington,  in  one  of 
his  letters,  says  there  was  "  an  original  something  in 
him  which  commanded  admiration." 

Thus  reinforced,  the  party,  now  two  hundred  and 
seventy  strong,  pushed  forward  to  Castleton,  a  place 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain. 
Here  a  council  of  war  was  held  on  the  2d  of  May. 
Ethan  Allen  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  expedition, 
with  James  Easton  and  Seth  Warner  as  second  and 
third  in  command.  Detachments  were  sent  off  to 
Skenesborough  (now  Whitehall),  and  another  place  on 
the  lake,  with  orders  to  seize  all  the  boats  they  could 
find  and  bring  them  to  Shoreham,  opposite  Ticonde- 
roga,  whither  Allen  prepared  to  proceed  with  the  main 
body. 

At  this  juncture,  another  adventurous  spirit  arrived 
at  Castleton.  This  was  Benedict  Arnold,  since  so 
sadly  renowned.  He,  too,  had  conceived  the  project 
of  surprising  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point ;  or,  per- 
haps, had  caught  the  idea  from  its  first  agitators  in  Con- 
necticut,— in  the  militia  of  which  province  he  held  a 
captain's  commission.  He  had  proposed  the  scheme 
to  the  Massachusetts  committee  of  safety.  It  had  met 
with  their  approbation.     They  had  given  him  a  colonel's 


444  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

commission,  authorized  him  to  raise  a  force  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  not  exceeding  four  hundred  men,  and 
furnished  him  with  money  and  means.  Arnold  had 
enlisted  but  a  few  officers  and  men  when  he  heard  of 
the  expedition  from  Connecticut  being  on  the  march. 
Pie  instantly  hurried  on  with  one  attendant  to  overtake 
it,  leaving  his  few  recruits  to  follow,  as  best  they 
could  :  in  this  way  he  reached  Castleton  just  after  the 
council  of  war. 

Producing  the  colonel's  commission  received  from 
the  Massachusetts  committee  of  safety,  he  now  aspired 
to  the  supreme  command.  His  claims  were  disregarded 
by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys ;  they  would  follow  no 
leader  but  Ethan  Allen.  As  they  formed  the  majority 
of  the  party,  Arnold  wras  fain  to  acquiesce,  and  serve 
as  a  volunteer,  with  the  rank,  but  not  the  command 
of  colonel. 

The  party  arrived  at  Shoreham,  opposite  Ticonde- 
roga,  on  the  night  of  the  9th  of  May.  The  detachment 
sent  in  quest  of  boats  had  failed  to  arrive.  There  were 
a  few  boats  at  hand,  with  which  the  transportation  was 
commenced.  It  was  slow  work ;  the  night  wore  away ; 
day  was  about  to  break ;  and  but  eighty-three  men, 
with  Allen  and  Arnold,  had  crossed.  Should  they 
wait  for  the  residue,  day  would  dawn,  the  garrison 
awake,  and  their  enterprise  might  fail.  Allen  drew  up 
his  men,  addressed  them  in  his  own  emphatic  style, 
and  announced  his  intention  to  make  a  dash  at  the 
fort,  without  waiting  for  more  force.  "  It  is  a  des- 
perate attempt,"  said  he,  "and  I  ask  no  man  to  go 
against  his  will.     I  will  take  the  lead,  and  be  the  first 


1775. j  ARRIVAL   AT   TICONDEROGA.  445 

to  advance.  You  that  are  willing  to  follow,  poise 
your  firelocks."     Not  a  firelock  but  was  poised. 

They  mounted  the  hill  briskly,  but  in  silence, 
guided  by  a  boy  from  the  neighborhood.  The  day 
dawned  as  Allen  arrived  at  a  sally  port.  A  sentry 
pulled  trigger  on  him,  but  his  piece  missed  fire.  He 
retreated  through  a  covered  way.  Allen  and  his  men 
followed.  Another  sentry  thrust  at  Easton  with  his 
bayonet,  but  was  struck  down  by  Allen,  and  begged 
for  quarter.  It  was  granted  on  condition  of  his 
leading  the  way  instantly  to  the  quarters  of  the  com- 
mandant, Captain  Delaplace,  who  was  yet  in  bed. 
Being  arrived  there,  Allen  thundered  at  the  door,  and 
demanded  a  surrender  of  the  fort.  By  this  time  his 
followers  had  formed  into  two  fines  on  the  parade- 
ground,  and  given  three  hearty  cheers.  The  comman- 
dant appeared  at  his  door  half-dressed,  "  the  frightened 
face  of  his  pretty  wife  peering  over  his  shoulder."  He 
gazed  at  Allen  in  bewildered  astonishment.  "  By 
whose  authority  do  you  act  ?  "  exclaimed  he.  "  In  the 
name  of  the  great  Jehovah,  and  the  Continental  Con- 
gress !  "  replied  Allen,  with  a  flourish  of  his  sword, 
and  an  oath  which  we  do  not  care  to  subjoin. 

There  was  no  disputing  the  point.  The  garrison, 
like  the  commander,  had  been  startled  from  sleep,  and 
made  prisoners  as  they  rushed  forth  in  their  confusion. 
A  surrender  accordingly  took  place.  The  captain,  and 
forty-eight  men,  which  composed  his  garrison,  were 
sent  prisoners  to  Hartford,  in  Connecticut.  A  great 
supply  of  military  and  naval  stores,  so  important  in  the 
present  crisis,  was  found  in  the  fortress. 

Colonel  Seth  Warner,  who  had  brought  over  the 


446  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTCW&  fl77b, 

residue  of  the  party  from  Shoreham,  was  now  sent 
with  a  detachment  against  Crown  Point,  which  surren- 
dered on  the  12th  of  May,  without  firing  a  gun  ;  the 
whole  garrison  being  a  sergeant  and  twelve  men. 
Here  were  taken  upward  of  a  hundred  cannon. 

Arnold  now  insisted  vehemently  on  his  right   to 
command  Ticonderoga;    being,  as  he  said,  the  only 
officer  invested  with  legal  authority.     His  claims  had 
again  to  yield  to  the   superior  popularity  of  Ethan 
Allen,  to  whom  the  Connecticut  committee,  which  had 
accompanied  the   enterprise,  gave   an   instrument  in 
writing,   investing    him  with  the    command   of    the 
fortress,  and  its  dependencies,  until  he  should  receive 
the  orders  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly,  or  the  Conti- 
nental Congress.     Arnold,  while  forced  to  acquiesce, 
sent  a  protest,  and  a  statement  of  his  grievances  to  the 
Massachusetts   Legislature.     In  the   mean   time,   his 
chagrin  was  appeased  by  a  new  project.     The  detach- 
ment originally  sent  to  seize  upon  boats  at    Skenes- 
borough,  arrived  with  a  schooner,  and  several  batteaux. 
It  was  immediately  concerted  between  Allen  and  Ar- 
nold to  cruise  in  them  down  the  lake,  and  surprise  St. 
John's,  on  the  Sorel  River,  the  frontier  post  of  Canada. 
The  schooner  was   accordingly   armed   with   cannon 
from  the  fort.     Arnold,  who  had  been  a  seaman  in  his 
youth,  took  the  command  of  her,  while  Allen  and  his 
Green  Mountain  Boys  embarked  in  the  batteaux. 

Arnold  outsailed  the  other  craft,  and  arriving  at 
St.  John's,  surprised  and  made  prisoners  of  a  sergeant 
and  twelve  men;  captured  a  king's  sloop  of  seventy 
tons,  with  two  brass  six-pounders  and  seven  men; 
took  four  batteaux,  destroyed  several  others,  and  then, 


1775.]  A   DASH    AT    ST.    JOHN'S.  447 

learning  that  troops  were  on  the  way  from  Montreal 
and  Chamblee,  spread  all  his  sails  to  a  favoring  breeze, 
and  swept  up  the  lake  with  his  prizes  and  prisoners, 
and  some  valuable  stores,  which  he  had  secured. 

He  had  not  sailed  far  when  he  met  Ethan  Allen 
and  the  batteaux.  Salutes  were  exchanged ;  cannon  on 
one  side,  musketry  on  the  other.  Allen  boarded  the 
sloop  ;  learnt  from  Arnold  the  particulars  of  his  suc- 
cess, and  determined  to  push  on,  take  possession  of  St. 
John's,  and  garrison  it  with  one  hundred  of  his  Green 
Mountain  Boys.  He  was  foiled  in  the  attempt  by  the 
superior  force  which  had  arrived ;  so  he  returned  to 
his  station  at  Ticonderoga. 

Thus  a  partisan  band,  unpractised  in  the  art  of 
war,  had,  by  a  series  of  daring  exploits,  and  almost  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  man,  won  for  the  patriots  the  command 
of  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  and  thrown  open  the 
great  highway  to  Canada. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

SECOND  SESSION  OF  CONGEESS — JOHN  HANCOCK — PETITION  TO  THE  KING — 
FEDEEAL  UNION — MILITAKY  MEASUEES — DEBATES  ABOUT  THE  AEMY — 
QUESTION  AS  TO  COMMANDEE  -IN-CHIEF — APPOINTMENT  OF  "WASHINGTON 

OTHEB  APPOINTMENTS — LETTEES  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  HIS  WIFE  AND 

BEOTHEE — PBEPAEATIONS  FOE  DEPAETUEE. 

The  second  General  Congress  assembled  at  Philadel- 
phia on  the  10th  of  May.  Peyton  Randolph  was 
again  elected  as  president;  but  being  obliged  to  re- 
turn, and  occupy  his  place  as  speaker  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly,  John  Hancock,  of  Massachusetts,  was  eleva- 
ted to  the  chair. 

A  lingering  feeling  of  attachment  to  the  mother 
country,  struggling  with  the  growing  spirit  of  self- 
government,  was  manifested  in  the  proceedings  of  this 
remarkable  body.  Many  of  those  most  active  in  vin- 
dicating colonial  rights,  and  Washington  among  the 
number,  still  indulged  the  hope  of  an  eventual  recon- 
ciliation, while  few  entertained,  or,  at  least,  avowed  the 
idea  of  complete  independence. 

A  second  "humble  and  dutiful"  petition  to  the 
king  was  moved,   but  met  with   strong  opposition. 


1775.]  A    FEDERAL    UNION    FORMED.  449 

John  Adams  condemned  it  as  an  imbecile  measure, 
calculated  to  embarrass  the  proceedings  of  Congress. 
He  was  for  prompt  and  vigorous  action.  Other  mem- 
bers concurred  with  him.  Indeed,  the  measure  itself 
seemed  but  a  mere  form,  intended  to  reconcile  the  half- 
scrupulous;  for  subsequently,  when  it  was  carried, 
Congress,  in  face  of  it,  went  on  to  assume  and  exercise 
the  powers  of  a  sovereign  authority.  A  federal  union 
was  formed,  leaving  to  each  colony  the  right  of  regu- 
lating its  internal  affairs  according  to  its  own  individ- 
ual constitution,  but  vesting  in  Congress  the  power  of 
making  peace  or  war;  of  entering  into  treaties  and 
alliances  ;  of  regulating  general  commerce  ;  in  a  word, 
of  legislating  on  all  such  matters  as  regarded  the 
security  and  welfare  of  the  whole  community. 

The  executive  power  was  to  be  vested  in  a  council 
of  twelve,  chosen  by  Congress  from  among  its  own 
members,  and  to  hold  office  for  a  limited  time.  Such 
colonies  as  had  not  sent  delegates  to  Congress,  might 
yet  become  members  of  the  confederacy  by  agreeing 
to  its  conditions.  Georgia,  which  had  hitherto  hesi- 
tated, soon  joined  the  league,  which  thus  extended 
from  Nova  Scotia  to  Florida. 

Congress  lost  no  time  in  exercising  their  federated 
powers.  In  virtue  of  them,  they  ordered  the  enlist- 
ment of  troops,  the  construction  of  forts  in  various 
parts  of  the  colonies,  the  provision  of  arms,  ammuni- 
tion and  military  stores ;  while  to  defray  the  expense 
of  these,  and  other  measures,  avowedly  of  self-defence, 
they  authorized  the  emission  of  notes  to  the  amount 
of  three  millions  of  dollars,  bearing  the  inscription  of 

vol.  i.— 29 


450  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

"  The  United  Colonies ; "  the  faith  of  the  confederacy 
being  pledged  for  their  redemption. 

A  retaliating  decree  was  passed,  prohibiting  all  sup- 
plies of  provisions  to  the  British  fisheries  ;  and  another, 
declaring  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  absolved 
from  its  compact  with  the  crown,  by  the  violation  of  its 
charter ;  and  recommending  it  to  form  an  internal  gov- 
ernment for  itself. 

The  public  sense  of  Washington's  military  talents 
and  experience,  was  evinced  in  his  being  chairman  of 
all  the  committees  appointed  for  military  affairs.  Most 
of  the  rules  and  regulations  for  the  army,  and  the 
measures  for  defence,  were  devised  by  him. 

The  situation  of  the  New  England  army,  actually  be- 
sieging Boston,  became  an  early  and  absorbing  consider- 
ation. It  was  without  munitions  of  war,  without  arms, 
clothing,  or  pay;  in  fact,  without  legislative  counte- 
nance or  encouragement.  Unless  sanctioned  and  assist- 
ed by  Congress,  there  was  danger  of  its  dissolution. 
If  dissolved,  how  could  another  be  collected?  If  dis- 
solved, what  would  there  be  to  prevent  the  British 
from  sallying  out  of  Boston,  and  spreading  desolation 
throughout  the  country  ? 

All  this  was  the  subject  of  much  discussion  out  of 
doors.  The  disposition  to  uphold  the  army  was  gen- 
eral; but  the  difficult  question  was,  who  should  be 
commander-in-chief?  Adams,  in  his  diary,  gives  us 
glimpses  of  the  conflict  of  opinions  and  interests  within 
doors.  There  was  a  southern  party,  he  said,  which 
could  not  brook  the  idea  of  a  New  England  army, 
commanded  by  a  New  England  general.  "  Whether 
this  jealousy  was  sincere,"  writes  he,  "  or  whether  it 


1775.]         GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE.  451 

was  mere  pride,  and  a  haughty  ambition  of  furnishing 
a  southern  general  to  command  the  northern  army,  I 
cannot  say ;  but  the  intention  was  very  visible  to  me, 
that  Colonel  Washington  was  their  object ;  and  so 
many  of  our  stanchest  men  were  in  the  plan,  that  we 
could  carry  nothing  without  conceding  to  it.  There 
was  another  embarrassment,  which  was  never  publicly 
known,  and  which  was  carefully  concealed  by  those 
who  knew  it :  the  Massachusetts  and  other  New  Eng- 
land delegates  were  divided.  Mr.  Hancock  and  Mr. 
Cushing  hung  back ;  Mr.  Paine  did  not  come  forward, 
and  even  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  was  irresolute.  Mr. 
Hancock  himself  had  an  ambition  to  be  appointed 
commander-in-chief.  Whether  he  thought  an  election 
a  compliment  due  to  him,  and  intended  to  have  the 
honor  of  declining  it,  or  whether  he  would  have  ac- 
cepted it,  I  know  not.  To  the  compliment,  he  had 
some  pretensions  ;  for,  at  that  time,  his  exertions,  sac- 
rifices, and  general  merits  in  the  cause  of  his  country, 
had  been  incomparably  greater  than  those  of  Colonel 
Washington.  But  the  delicacy  of  his  health,  and  his 
entire  want  of  experience  in  actual  service,  though  an 
excellent  militia  officer,  were  decisive  objections  to  him 
in  my  mind." 

General  Charles  Lee  was  at  that  time  in  Philadel- 
phia. His  former  visit  had  made  him  well  acquainted 
with  the  leading  members  of  Congress.  The  active* 
interest  he  had  manifested  in  the  cause  was  well 
known,  and  the  public  had  an  almost  extravagant  idea 
of  his  military  qualifications.  He  was  of  foreign  birth, 
however,  and  it  was  deemed  improper  to  confide  the 
supreme  command  to  any  but  a  native-born  American. 


452  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

In  fact,  if  he  was  sincere  in  what  we  have  quoted  from 
his  letter  to  Burke,  he  did  not  aspire  to  such  a  signal 
mark  of  confidence. 

The  opinion  evidently  inclined  in  favor  of  Wash- 
ington ;  yet  it  was  promoted  by  no  clique  of  partisans 
or  admirers.  More  than  one  of  the  Virginia  delegates, 
says  Adams,  were  cool  on  the  subject  of  his  appoint- 
ment ;  and  particularly  Mr.  Pendleton,  was  clear  and 
full  against  it.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that 
Washington  in  this,  as  in  every  other  situation  in  life, 
made  no  step  in  advance  to  clutch  the  impending 
honor. 

Adams,  in  his  diary,  claims  the  credit  of  bringing 
the  members  of  Congress  to  a  decision.  Rising  in  his 
place,  one  day,  and  stating  briefly,  but  earnestly,  the 
exigencies  of  the  case,  he  moved  that  Congress  should 
adopt  the  army  at  Cambridge,  and  appoint  a  general. 
Though  this  was  not  the  time  to  nominate  the  person, 
"  yet,"  adds  he,  "  as  I  had  reason  to  believe  this  was  a 
point  of  some  difficulty,  I  had  no  hesitation  to  declare, 
that  I  had  but  one  gentleman  in  my  mind  for  that  im- 
portant command,  and  that  was  a  gentleman  from  Vir- 
ginia, who  was  among  us,  and  very  well  known  to  all 
of  us  ;  a  gentleman,  whose  skill  and  experience  as  an 
officer,  whose  independent  fortune,  great  talents,  and 
excellent  universal  character,  would  command  the  ap- 
probation of  all  America,  and  unite  the  cordial  exer- 
tions of  all  the  colonies  better  than  any  other  person  in 
the  Union.  Mr.  Washington,  who  happened  to  sit 
near  the  door,  as  soon  as  he  heard  me  allude  to  him, 
from  his  usual  modesty,  darted  into  the  library-room. 
Mr.  Hancock,  who  was  our  president,  which  gave  me 


1775.]        WASHINGTON    COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.  453 

an  opportunity  to  observe  his  countenance,  while  I  was 
speaking  on  the  state  of  the  colonies,  the  army  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  the  enemy,  heard  me  with  visible  pleasure ; 
but  when  I  came  to  describe  Washington  for  the  com- 
mander, I  never  remarked  a  more  sudden  and  striking 
change  of  countenance.  Mortification  and  resentment 
were  expressed  as  forcibly  as  his  face  could  exhibit 
them." 

"When  the  subject  came  under  debate,  several 
delegates  opposed  the  appointment  of  Washington; 
not  from  personal  objections,  but  because  the  army 
were  all  from  New  England,  and  had  a  general  of  their 
own,  General  Artemas  Ward,  with  whom  they  ap- 
peared well  satisfied  ;  and  under  whose  command  they 
had  proved  themselves  able  to  imprison  the  British 
army  in  Boston ;  which  was  all  that  was  to  be  expected 
or  desired." 

The  subject  was  postponed  to  a  future  day.  In 
the  interim,  pains  were  taken  out  of  doors  to  obtain  a 
unanimity ;  and  the  voices  were  in  general  so  clearly 
in  favor  of  Washington,  that  the  dissentient  members 
were  persuaded  to  withdraw  their  opposition. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  the  army  was  regularly 
adopted  by  Congress,  and  the  pay  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  fixed  at  five  hundred  dollars  a  month.  Many 
still  clung  to  the  idea,  that  in  all  these  proceedings 
they  were  merely  opposing  the  measures  of  the  minis- 
try, and  not  the  authority  of  the  crown ;  and  thus  the 
army  before  Boston  was  designated  as  the  Continental 
Army,  in  contradistinction  to  that  under  General  Gage, 
which  was  called  the  Ministerial  Army. 

In  this   stage  of  the  business,  Mr.  Johnson,  of 


454  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

Maryland,  rose,  and  nominated  Washington  for  the 
station  of  commander-in-chief.  The  election  was  by 
ballot,  and  was  unanimous.  It  was  formally  announced 
to  him  by  the  president,  on  the  following  day,  when 
he  had  taken  his  seat  in  Congress.  Rising  in  his 
place,  he  briefly  expressed  his  high  and  grateful  sense 
of  the  honor  conferred  on  him,  and  his  sincere  devo- 
tion to  the  cause.  "  But,"  added  he,  "  lest  some  un- 
lucky event  should  happen  unfavorable  to  my  reputa- 
tion, I  beg  it  may  be  remembered  by  every  gentleman 
in  the  room,  that  I  this  day  declare,  with  the  utmost 
sincerity,  I  do  not  think  myself  equal  to  the  command 
I  am  honored  with.  As  to  pay,  I  beg  leave  to  assure 
the  Congress  that,  as  no  pecuniary  consideration  could 
have  tempted  me  to  accept  this  arduous  employment, 
at  the  expense  of  my  domestic  ease  and  happiness,  I 
do  not  wish  to  make  any  profit  of  it.  I  will  keep  an 
exact  account  of  my  expenses.  Those,  I  doubt  not, 
they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all  I  desire." 

"  There  is  something  charming  to  me  in  the  con- 
duct of  Washington,"  writes  Adams  to  a  friend ;  "  a 
gentleman  of  one  of  the  first  fortunes  upon  the  conti- 
nent, leaving  his  delicious  retirement,  his  family  and 
friends,  sacrificing  his  ease,  and  hazarding  all,  in  the 
cause  of  his  country.  His  views  are  noble  and  disin- 
terested. He  declared,  when  he  accepted  the  mighty 
trust,  that  he  would  lay  before  us  an  exact  account  of 
his  expenses,  and  not  accept  a  shilling  pay." 

Four  major-generals  were  to  be  appointed.  Among 
those  specified  were  General  Charles  Lee  and  General 
Ward.  Mr.  Mifflin,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  Lee's 
especial  friend  and  admirer,  urged  that  he  should  be 


1775.]  OTHER  APPOINTMENTS.  455 

second  in  command.  "  General  Lee,"  said  he,  "  would 
cheerfully  serve  under  Washington;  but  considering 
his  rank,  character,  and  experience,  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  serve  under  any  other.  He  must  be  aut  se- 
cundus,  aut  tiullus." 

Adams,  on  the  other  hand,  as  strenuously  objected 
that  it  would  be  a  great  deal  to  expect  that  General 
Ward,  who  was  actually  in  command  of  the  army  in 
Boston,  should  serve  under  any  man;  but  under  a 
stranger  he  ought  not  to  serve.  General  Ward,  ac- 
cordingly, was  elected  the  second  in  command,  and 
Lee  the  third.  The  other  two  major-generals  were, 
Philip  Schuyler,  of  New  York,  and  Israel  Putnam,  of 
Connecticut.  Eight  brigadier-generals  were  likewise 
appointed ;  Seth  Pomeroy,  Richard  Montgomery,  Da- 
vid Wooster,  William  Heath,  Joseph  Spencer,  John 
Thomas,  John  Sullivan,  and  Nathaniel  Green. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Mifflin's  objection  to  having 
Lee  ranked  under  Ward,  as  being  beneath  his  dignity 
and  merits,  he  himself  made  no  scruple  to  acquiesce ; 
though,  judging  from  his  supercilious  character,  and 
from  circumstances  in  his  subsequent  conduct,  he  no 
doubt  considered  himself  vastly  superior  to  the  provin- 
cial officers  placed  over  him. 

At  Washington's  express  request,  his  old  friend, 
Major  Horatio  Gates,  then  absent  at  his  estate  in 
Virginia,  was  appointed  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank 
of  brigadier. 

Adams,  according  to  his  own  account,  was  ex- 
tremely loth  to  admit  either  Lee  or  Gates  into  the 
American  service,  although  he  considered  them  officers 
of  great  experience  and  confessed  abilities.     He  appre- 


456  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

hended  difficulties,  he  said,  from  the  "  natural  preju- 
dices and  virtuous  attachment  of  our  countrymen  to 
their  own  officers."  "  But,"  adds  he,  "  considering 
the  earnest  desire  of  General  Washington  to  have  the 
assistance  of  those  officers,  the  extreme  attachment  of 
many  of  our  best  friends  in  the  southern  colonies  to 
them,  the  reputation  they  would  give  to  our  arms  in 
Europe,  and  especially  with  the  ministerial  generals  and 
army  in  Boston,  as  well  as  the  real  American  merit  of 
both,  I  could  not  withhold  my  vote  from  either." 

The  reader  will  possibly  call  these  circumstances  to 
mind  when,  on  a  future  page,  he  finds  how  Lee  and 
Gates  requited  the  friendship  to  which  chiefly  they 
owed  their  appointments. 

In  this  momentous  change  in  his  condition,  which 
suddenly  altered  all  his  course  of  life,  and  called  him 
immediately  to  the  camp,  Washington's  thoughts  re- 
curred to  Mount  Vernon,  and  its  rural  delights,  so  dear 
to  his  heart,  whence  he  was  to  be  again  exiled.  His 
chief  concern,  however,  was  on  account  of  the  distress 
it  might  cause  to  his  wife.  His  letter  to  her  on  the 
subject  is  written  in  a  tone  of  manly  tenderness. 
"You  may  believe  me,"  writes  he,  "when  I  assure 
you,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  that,  so  far  from 
seeking  this  appointment,  I  have  used  every  endeavor 
in  my  power  to  avoid  it,  not  only  from  my  unwilling- 
ness to  part  with  you  and  the  family,  but  from  a  con- 
sciousness of  its  being  a  trust  too  great  for  my  ca- 
pacity ;  and  I  should  enjoy  more  real  happiness  in  one 
month  with  you  at  home,  than  I  have  the  most  distant 
prospect  of  finding  abroad,  if  my  stay  were  to  be  seven 
times  seven  years.     But  as  it  has  been  a  kind  of  des- 


1775.]       LETTER  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  HIS  "WIFE.  457 

tiny  that  has  thrown  me  upon  this  service,  I  shall  hope 
that  my  undertaking  it  is  designed  to  answer  some 
good  purpose.     *     *     *     * 

"  I  shall  rely  confidently  on  that  Providence  which 
has  heretofore  preserved,  and  been  bountiful  to  me,  not 
doubting  but  that  I  shall  return  safe  to  you  in  the  Fall. 
I  shall  feel  no  pain  from  the  toil  or  danger  of  the  cam- 
paign ;  my  unhappiness  will  flow  from  the  uneasiness 
I  know  you  will  feel  from  being  left  alone.  I  therefore 
beg  that  you  will  summon  your  whole  fortitude,  and 
pass  your  time  as  agreeably  as  possible.  Nothing  will 
give  me  so  much  sincere  satisfaction  as  to  hear  this,  and 
to  hear  it  from  your  own  pen." 

And  to  his  favorite  brother,  John  Augustine,  he 
writes  :  "  I  am  now  to  bid  adieu  to  you,  and  to  every 
kind  of  domestic  ease,  for  a  while.  I  am  embarked  on 
a  wide  ocean,  boundless  in  its  prospect,  and  in  which, 
perhaps,  no  safe  harbor  is  to  be  found.  I  have  been 
called  upon  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  colonies  to 
take  the  command  of  the  continental  army ;  an  honor 
I  neither  sought  after,  nor  desired,  as  I  am  thoroughly 
convinced  that  it  requires  great  abilities,  and  much 
more  experience,  than  I  am  master  of."  And  subse- 
quently, referring  to  his  wife :  "  I  shall  hope  that  my 
friends  will  visit,  and  endeavor  to  keep  up  the  spirits 
of  my  wife  as  much  as  they  can,  for  my  departure  will, 
I  know,  be  a  cutting  stroke  upon  her ;  and  on  this  ac- 
count alone  I  have  many  disagreeable  sensations." 
*  On  the  20th  of  June,  he  received  his  commission 
from  the  president  of  Congress.  The  following  day 
was  fixed  upon  for  his  departure  for  the  army.  He 
reviewed  previously,  at  the  request  of  their  officers, 


458  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1775, 

several  militia  companies  of  horse  and  foot.  Every  one 
was  anxious  to  see  the  new  commander,  and  rarely  has 
the  public  beau  ideal  of  a  commander  been  so  fully  an- 
swered. He  was  now  in  the  vigor  of  his  days,  forty- 
three  years  of  age,  stately  in  person,  noble  in  his  de- 
meanor, calm  and  dignified  in  his  deportment ;  as  he 
sat  his  horse,  with  manly  grace,  his  military  pres- 
ence delighted  every  eye,  and  wherever  he  went  the  air 
rang  with  acclamations. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

MORE   TEOOPS   AEEIVE   AT   BOSTON — GENEBALS    HOWE,   BUEGOYNE,   AND 
CLINTON — PROCLAMATION  OE  GAGE — NATUEE  OF  THE  AMEBIC  AN  AEMT 

SCOBNFUL   CONDUCT    OF   THE  BEITISH  OFFICERS — PEOJECT   OF    THE 

AMEEICANS  TO  SEIZE  UPON  BEEED's  HILL— PUTNAM'S  OPINION  OF  IT 

SANCTIONED  BY  PEESOOTT — NOCTUBNAL  MAECH  OF  THE  DETACHMENT 
— FOBTIFTING  OF  BUNKEb's  HILL — BEEAK  OF  DAT,  AND  ASTONISHMENT 
OF  THE  ENEMY. 

While  Congress  had  been  deliberating  on  the  adoption 
of  the  army,  and  the  nomination  of  a  commander-in- 
chief,  events  had  been  thickening  and  drawing  to  a 
crisis  in  the  excited  region  abont  Boston.  The  provin- 
cial troops  which  blockaded  the  town  prevented  sup- 
plies by  land,  the  neighboring  country  refused  to  fur- 
nish them  by  water ;  fresh  provisions  and  vegetables 
were  no  longer  to  be  procured,  and  Boston  began  to 
experience  the  privations  of  a  besieged  city. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  arrived  ships  of  war  and 
transports  from  England,  bringing  large  reinforce- 
ments, under  Generals  Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Henry 
Clinton,  commanders  of  high  reputation. 

As  the  ships  entered  the  harbor,  and  the  "rebel 
camp "  was  pointed  out,  ten  thousand  yeomanry  be- 
leaguering a  town  garrisoned  by  five  thousand  regulars, 
Burgoyne  could  not  restrain  a  burst  of  surprise  and 


460  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

scorn.  "What!"  cried  he,  "ten  thousand  peasants 
keep  five  thousand  king's  troops  shut  up !  Well,  let 
us  get  in,  and  we'll  soon  find  elbow-room." 

Inspirited  by  these  reinforcements,  General  Gage 
determined  to  take  the  field.  Previously,  however,  in 
conformity  to  instructions  from  Lord  Dartmouth,  the 
head  of  the  war  department,  he  issued  a  proclamation 
(12th  June),  putting  the  province  under  martial  law, 
threatening  to  treat  as  rebels  and  traitors  all  malcon- 
tents who  should  continue  under  arms,  together  with 
their  aiders  and  abettors;  but  offering  pardon  to  all 
who  should  lay  down  their  arms,  and  return  to  their 
allegiance.  Prom  this  proffered  amnesty,  however, 
John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  were  especially  ex- 
cepted ;  their  offences  being  pronounced  "  too  flagitious 
not  to  meet  with  condign  punishment." 

This  proclamation  only  served  to  put  the  patriots 
on  the  alert  against  such  measures  as  might  be  expect- 
ed to  follow,  and  of  which  their  friends  in  Boston  stood 
ready  to  apprise  them.  The  besieging  force,  in  the 
mean  time,  was  daily  augmented  by  recruits  and  vol- 
unteers, and  now  amounted  to  about  fifteen  thousand 
men  distributed  at  various  points.  Its  character  and 
organization  were  peculiar.  As  has  well  been  observed, 
it  could  not  be  called  a  national  army,  for,  as  yet,  there 
was  no  nation  to  own  it ;  it  was  not  under  the  author- 
ity of  the  Continental  Congress,  the  act  of  that  body 
recognizing  it  not  having  as  yet  been  passed,  and  the 
authority  of  that  body  itself  not  having  been  ac- 
knowledged. It  was,  in  fact,  a  fortuitous  assemblage 
of  four  distinct  bodies  of  troops,  belonging  to  different 
provinces,  and  each  having  a  leader  of  its  own  election. 


1775.]  NATURE   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ARMY.  461 

About  ten  thousand  belonged  to  Massachusetts,  and 
were  under  the  command  of  General  Artemas  Ward 
whose  head-quarters  were  at  Cambridge.  Anothei 
body  of  troops,  under  Colonel  John  Stark,  already 
mentioned,  came  from  New  Hampshire.  Rhode  Island 
furnished  a  third,  under  the  command  of  General  Na- 
thaniel Greene.  A  fourth  was  from  Connecticut,  under 
the  veteran  Putnam. 

These  bodies  of  troops,  being  from  different  colo- 
nies, were  independent  of  each  other,  and  had  their 
several  commanders.  Those  from  New  Hampshire 
were  instructed  to  obey  General  Ward  as  commander- 
in-chief  ;  with  the  rest,  it  was  a  voluntary  act,  rendered 
in  consideration  of  his  being  military  chief  of  Massa- 
chusetts, the  province  which,  as  allies,  they  came  to 
defend.  There  was,  in  fact,  but  little  organization  in 
the  army.  Nothing  kept  it  together,  and  gave  it  unity 
of  action,  but  a  common  feeling  of  exasperated  pa- 
triotism. 

The  troops  knew  but  little  of  military  discipline. 
Almost  all  were  familiar  with  the  use  of  fire-arms  in 
hunting  and  fowling  j  many  had  served  in  frontier  cam- 
paigns against  the  French,  and  in  "  bush  fighting  " 
with  the  Indians ;  but  none  were  acquainted  with  reg- 
ular service,'  or  the  discipline  of  European  armies. 
There  was  a  regiment  of  artillery,  partly  organized  by 
Colonel  Gridley,  a  skilful  engineer,  and  furnished  with 
nine  field-pieces ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  troops 
were  without  military  dress  or  accoutrements ;  most  of 
them  were  hasty  levies  of  yeomanry,  some  of  whom 
had  seized  their  rifles  and  fowling-pieces,  and  turned 
out  in  their  working  clothes  and  homespun  country 


462  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

garbs.  It  was  an  army  of  volunteers,  subordinate 
through  inclination  and  respect  to  officers  of  their  own 
choice,  and  depending  for  sustenance  on  supplies  sent 
from  their  several  towns. 

Such  was  the  army  spread  over  an  extent  of  ten  or 
twelve  miles,  and  keeping  watch  upon  the  town  of 
Boston,  containing  at  that  time  a  population  of  seven- 
teen thousand  souls,  and  garrisoned  with  more  than  ten 
thousand  British  troops,  disciplined  and  experienced  in 
the  wars  of  Europe. 

In  the  disposition  of  these  forces,  General  Ward 
had  stationed  himself  at  Cambridge,  with  the  main 
body  of  about  nine  thousand  men,  and  four  companies 
of  artillery.  Lieutenant-general  Thomas,  second  in 
command,  was  posted,  with  five  thousand  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut  and  Bhode  Island  troops,  and  three 
or  four  companies  of  artillery,  at  Boxbury  and  Dor- 
chester, forming  the  right  wing  of  the  army ;  while  the 
left,  composed  in  a  great  measure  of  New  Hampshire 
troops,  stretched  through  Medford  to  the  hills  of 
Chelsea. 

It  was  a  great  annoyance  to  the  British  officers  and 
soldiers,  to  be  thus  hemmed  in  by  what  they  termed  a 
rustic  rout  with  calico  frocks  and  fowling-pieces.  The 
same  scornful  and  taunting  spirit  prevailed  among 
them,  that  the  Cavaliers  of  yore  indulged  toward  the 
Covenanters.  Considering  episcopacy  as  the  only  loyal 
and  royal  faith,  they  insulted  and  desecrated  the  "  sec- 
tarian" places  of  worship.  One  was  turned  into  a 
riding  school  for  the  cavalry,  and  the  fire  in  the  stove 
was  kindled  with  books  from  the  library  of  its  pastor. 
The  Provincials  retaliated,  by  turning  the  Episcopal 


1775.]  PROJECTED    ENTERPRISE.  463 

church  at  Cambridge  into  a  barrack,  and  melting 
down  its  organ-pipes  into  bullets. 

Both  parties  panted  for  action  ;*  the  British  through 
impatience  of  their  humiliating  position,  and  an  eager- 
ness to  chastise  what  they  considered  the  presumption 
of  their  besiegers  ;  the  Provincials  through  enthusiasm 
in  their  cause,  a  thirst  for  enterprise  and  exploit,  and, 
it  must  be  added,  an  unconsciousness  of  their  own 
military  deficiencies. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  peninsula  of 
Charlestown  (called  from  a  village  of  the  same  name), 
which  lies  opposite  to  the  north  side  of  Boston.  The 
heights,  which  swell  up  in  rear  of  the  village,  overlook 
the  town  and  shipping.  The  project  was  conceived  in 
the  besieging  camp  to  seize  and  occupy  those  heights. 
A  council  of  war  was  held  upon  the  subject.  The 
arguments  in  favor  of  the  attempt  were,  that  the  army 
was  anxious  to  be  employed;  that  the  country  was 
dissatisfied  with  its  inactivity;  and  that  the  enemy 
might  thus  be  drawn  out  to  ground  where  they  might 
be  fought  to  advantage.  General  Putnam  was  one  of 
the  most  strenuous  in  favor  of  the  measure. 

Some  of  the  more  wary  and  judicious,  among 
whom  were  General  Ward  and  Dr.  Warren,  doubted 
the  expediency  of  intrenching  themselves  on  those 
heights,  and  the  possibility  of  maintaining  so  exposed 
a  post,  scantily  furnished,  as  they  were,  with  ordnance 
and  ammunition.  Besides,  it  might  bring  on  a  gen- 
eral engagement,  which  it  was  not  safe  to  risk. 

Putnam  made  light  of  the  danger.  He  was  confi- 
dent of  the  bravery  of  the  militia  if  intrenched,  having 
seen  it  tried  in  the  old  French  war.     "The  Ameri- 


464  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775 

cans,"  said  he,  "  are  never  afraid  of  their  heads ;  they 
only  think  of  their  legs ;  shelter  them,  and  they'll  fight 
for  ever."  He  was  seconded  by  General  Pomeroy,  a 
leader  of  like  stamp,  and  another  veteran  of  the  French 
war.  He  had  been  a  hunter  in  his  time  ;  a  dead  shot 
with  a  rifle,  and  was  ready  to  lead  troops  against  the 
enemy,  "with,  five  cartridges  to  a  man." 

The  daring  counsels  of  such  men  are  always  capti- 
vating to  the  inexperienced;  but  in  the  present  in- 
stance, they  were  sanctioned  by  one  whose  opinion  in 
such  matters,  and  in  this  vicinity,  possessed  peculiar 
weight.  This  was  Colonel  William  Prescott,  of  Pepe- 
rell,  who  commanded  a  regiment  of  minute  men.  He, 
too,  had  seen  service  in  the  French  war,  and  acquired 
reputation  as  a  lieutenant  of  infantry  at  the  capture  of 
Cape  Breton.  This  was  sufficient  to  constitute  him  an 
oracle  in  the  present  instance.  He  was  now  about  fifty 
years  of  age,  tall  and  commanding  in  his  appearance, 
and  retaining  the  port  of  a  soldier.  What  was  more, 
he  had  a  military  garb ;  being  equipped  with  a  three- 
cornered  hat,  a  top  wig,  and  a  single-breasted  blue 
coat,  with  facings,  and  lapped  up  at  the  skirts.  All 
this  served  to  give  him  consequence  among  the  rustic 
militia  officers  with  whom  he  was  in  council. 

His  opinion,  probably,  settled  the  question  j  and  it 
was  determined  to  seize  on  and  fortify  Bunker's  Hill 
and  Dorchester  Heights.  In  deference,  however,  to 
the  suggestions  of  the  more  cautious,  it  was  agreed  to 
postpone  the  measure  until  they  were  sufficiently  sup- 
plied with  the  munitions  of  war  to  be  able  to  maintain 
the  heights  when  seized. 

Secret   intelligence  hurried  forward  the    project. 


1775.]  PROJECT   TO    SEIZE    THE   HEIGHTS.  465 

General  Gage,  it  was  said,  intended  to  take  possession 
of  Dorchester  Heights  on  the  night  of  the  18th  of 
June.  These  heights  lay  on  the  opposite  side  of  Bos- 
ton, and  the  committee  were  ignorant  of  their  locali- 
ties. Those  on  Charlestown  Neck,  being  near  at  hand, 
had  some  time  before  been  reconnoitered  by  Colonel 
Richard  Gridley,  and  other  of  the  engineers.  It  was 
determined  to  seize  and  fortify  these  heights  on  the 
night  of  Friday,  the  16th  of  June,  in  anticipation  of 
the  movement  of  General  Gage.  Troops  were  draught- 
ed for  the  purpose  from  the  Massachusetts  regiments 
of  Colonels  Prescott,  Prye  and  Bridges.  There  was 
also  a  fatigue  party  of  about  two  hundred  men  from 
Putnam's  Connecticut  troops,  led  by  his  favorite  officer, 
Captain  Knowlton ;  together  with  a  company  of  forty- 
nine  artillery  men,  with  two  field-pieces,  commanded 
by  Captain  Samuel  Gridley. 

A  little  before  sunset  the  troops,  about  twelve  hun- 
dred in  all,  assembled  on  the  common,  in  front  of  Gen- 
eral Ward's  quarters.  They  came  provided  with  packs, 
blankets  and  provisions  for  four-and-twenty  hours,  but 
ignorant  of  the  object  of  the  expedition.  Being  all 
paraded*  prayers  were  offered  up  by  the  reverend  Presi- 
dent Langdon,  of  Harvard  College ;  after  which  they 
all  set  forward  on  their  silent  march. 

Colonel  Prescott,  from  his  experience  in  military 
matters,  and  his  being  an  officer  in  the  Massachusetts 
line,  had  been  chosen  by  General  Ward  to  conduct  the 
enterprise.  His  written  orders  were  to  fortify  Bunker's 
Hill,  and  defend  the  works  until  he  should  be  relieved. 
Colonel  Richard  Gridley,  the  chief  engineer,  who  had 
likewise  served  in  the  Trench  war,  was  to  accompany 
vol.  i.— 30 


466  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

him  and  plan  the  fortifications.  It  was  understood 
that  reinforcements  and  refreshments  would  be  sent  to 
the  fatigue  party  in  the  morning. 

The  detachment  left  Cambridge  about  9  o'clock, 
Colonel  Prescott  taking  the  lead,  preceded  by  two  ser- 
geants with  dark  lanterns.  At  Charlestown  Neck  they 
were  joined  by  Major  Brooks,  of  Bridges'  regiment,  and 
General  Putnam;  and  here  were  the  waggons  laden 
with  intrenching  tools,  which  first  gave  the  men  an 
indication  of  the  nature  of  the  enterprise. 

Charlestown  Neck  is  a  narrow  isthmus,  connecting 
the  peninsula  with  the  main  land ;  having  the  Mystic 
River  about  half  a  mile  wide,  on  the  north,  and  a  large 
embayment  of  Charles  River  on  the  south  or  right  side. 

It  was  now  necessary  to  proceed  with  the  utmost 
caution,  for  they  were  coming  on  ground  over  which 
the  British  kept  jealous  watch.  They  had  erected  a 
battery  at  Boston  on  Copp's  Hill,  immediately  opposite 
to  Charlestown.  Pive  of  their  vessels  of  war  were  sta- 
tioned so  as  to  bear  upon  the  peninsula  from  different 
directions,  and  the  guns  of  one  of  them  swept  the 
isthmus,  or  narrow  neck  just  mentioned. 

Across  this  isthmus,  Colonel  Prescott  conducted 
the  detachment  undiscovered,  and  up  the  ascent  of  Bun- 
ker's Hill.  This  commences  at  the  Neck,  and  slopes 
up  for  about  three  hundred  yards  to  its  summit,  which 
is  about  one  hundred  and  twelve  feet  high.  It 
then  declines  toward  the  south,  and  is  connected  by  a 
ridge  with  Breed's  Hill,  about  sixty  or  seventy  feet 
high.  The  crests  of  the  two  hills  are  about  seven 
hundred  yards  apart. 

'  On  attaining  the  heights,  a  question  rose  which  of 


Reduced  from  the  British.  Map. 


a  flan  §  piths  M(gf«i  $ct 

BUNKERS   HILL, 

on  the  17^ of  June  1775. 

BETWEEN  HIS  HAJESTYS    TUDOPS, 
TOBER.  THE  COMMAND  OE  M&  GENERAL  HOWE 
AND  THE  REBEL  EORCES. 
Uy  Xieu*  PAGE  of  the  Engineers,  fy 

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REFUJUSJSTC-ESTO     THEPLA.JST. 

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^y  G  Redoubt  CrFntrencTvuent  proof 'against  our  field Fteces. 

H  J?  Situation  of ourFicld  Pieces  with  the  direction  of  their  Hit . 
^^  I   Artillery  moved  forward  .the  J'J  direction  of  the  Fire  shewn  in  dotted  Lines. 

V^i,   I.P  Fire  of  the  And  lery  against  i.r\ellcdqcY.toco\crflie  Attack  upon  theirLtfl 
v\'  V  s   "**     }LTht  Order our Iroops -woo :i 'd probai A- h :o <ve  Attackd  m  had onvl .  Lnf?bten  able 


to  penetrate  . 


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~ytM  Grenadienstakinq  Groundtothc  Left  of  Out  LLInf~ which  had  not.  lee.rvable  to  force  theEnemv- 

"&  The  principal  Fire  ofthe  Artillery  was  directed  from  thisPotnt  against  IheJledge  ~F . 
0. 0  Thc45?fr3??Hcat.safter7iavini/  indinedlo the  left  to  leave  an  Interval  for  I7ie  Artillery. 
P.T?  Tfic  5 ^.&3 8f Regiments. 

jf  6~jfatt  9  of  Marines  disembarked  v^ar  the  Maid  cfCliarlesTown.afierit 
incited  c\- assisted  in  tAeF&hjjdiontifiheFiedoiibt. 

tort^Afy^^Gmriadirrs  &  •Fcgimenls  immediately  opposite  to  it 
-&xn*03^:fcwied;oncl,ri7e  iaorderto  retumtheFmemysFtre . 


£-C°  .New  York. 


1775.]  OPERATIONS    AT   NIGHT.  467 

the  two  they  should  proceed  to  fortify.  Bunker's  Hill 
was  specified  in  the  written  orders  given  to  Colonel 
Prescott  by  General  Ward,  but  Breed's  Hill  was  much 
nearer  to  Boston,  and  had  a  better  command  of  the 
town  and  shipping.  Bunker's  Hill,  also,  being  on  the 
upper  and  narrower  part  of  the  peninsula,  was  'itself 
commanded  by  the  same  ship  which  raked  the  Neck. 
Putnam  was  clear  for  commencing  at  Breed's  Hill,  and 
making  the  principal  work  there,  while  a  minor  work 
might  be  thrown  up  at  Bunker's  Hill,  as  a  protection 
in  the  rear,  and  a  rallying  point,  in  case  of  being 
driven  out  of  the  main  work.  Others  concurred  with 
this  opinion,  yet  there  was  a  hesitation  in  deviating 
from  the  letter  of  their  orders.  At  length  Colonel 
Gridley  became  impatient;  the  night  was  waning; 
delay  might  prostrate  the  whole  enterprise.  Breed's 
Hill  was  then  determined  on.  Gridley  marked  out 
the  lines  for  the  fortifications ;  the  men  stacked  their 
guns ;  threw  off  their  packs ;  seized  their  trenching 
tools,  and  set  to  work  with  great  spirit ; '  but  so  much 
time  had  been  wasted  in  discussion,  that  it  was  mid- 
night before  they  struck  the  first  spade  into  the  ground. 
Prescott,  who  felt  the  responsibility  of  his  charge, 
almost  despaired  of  carrying  on  these  operations  un- 
discovered. A  party  was  sent  out  by  him  silently  to 
patrol  the  shore  at  the  foot  of  the  heights,  and  watch 
for  any  movement  of  the  enemy.  Not  willing  to  trust 
entirely  to  the  vigilance  of  others,  he  twice  went  down 
during  the  night  to  the  water's  edge ;  reconnoitering 
every  thing  scrupulously,  and  noting  every  sight  and 
sound.  It  was  a  warm,  still,  summer's  night;  the 
stars  shone  brightly,  but  every  thing  was  quiet.     Bos- 


468  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

ton  was  buried  in  sleep.  The  sentry's  cry  of  "  All's 
well  "  could  be  heard  distinctly  from  its  shores,  toge- 
ther with  the  drowsy  calling  of  the  watch  on  board  of 
the  ships  of  war,  and  then  all  would  relapse  into  silence. 
Satisfied  that  the  enemy  were  perfectly  unconscious  of 
what  was  going  on  upon  the  hill,  he  returned  to  the 
works,  and  a  little  before  daybreak  called  in  the  patrol- 
ling party. 

So  spiritedly,  though  silently,  had  the  labor  been 
carried  on,  that  by  morning  a  strong  redoubt  was 
thrown  up  as  a  main  work,  flanked  on  the  left  by  a 
breastwork,  partly  cannon-proof,  extending  down  the 
crest  of  Breed's  Hill  to  a  piece  of  marshy  ground 
called  the  Slough.  To  support  the  right  of  the  re- 
doubt, some  troops  were  thrown  into  the  village  of 
Charlestown,  at  the  southern  foot  of  the  hill.  The 
great  object  of  Prescott's  solicitude  was  now  attained, 
a  sufficient  bulwark  to  screen  his  men  before  they 
should  be  discovered ;  for  he  doubted  the  possibility 
of  keeping  raw  recruits  to  their  post,  if  openly  exposed 
to  the  fire  of  artillery,  and  the  attack  of  disciplined 
troops. 

At  dawn  of  day,  the  Americans  at  work  were 
espied  by  the  sailors  on  board  of  the  ships  of  war,  and 
the  alarm  was  given.  The  captain  of  the  Lively,  the 
nearest  ship,  without  waiting  for  orders,  put  a  spring 
upon  her  cable,  and  bringing  her  guns  to  bear,  opened 
a  fire  upon  the  hill.  The  other  ships  and  a  floating 
battery  followed  his  example.  Their  shot  did  no  mis- 
chief to  the  works,  but  one  man,  among  a  number  who 
had  incautiously  ventured  outside,  was  killed.  A 
subaltern  reported  his  death  to  Colonel  Prescott,  and 


1775.]  PRESCOTT   ON   THE   PARAPET.  469 

asked  what  was  to  be  done.  "  Bury  him,"  was  the 
reply.  The  chaplain  gathered  some  of  his  military 
flock  around  him,  and  was  proceeding  to  perform  suit- 
able obsequies  over  the  "first  martyr,"  but  Prescott 
ordered  that  the  men  should  disperse  to  their  work, 
and  the  deceased  be  buried  immediately.  It  seemed 
shocking  to  men  accustomed  to  the  funeral  solemni- 
ties of  peaceful  life,  to  bury  a  man  without  prayers, 
but  Prescott  saw  that  the  sight  of  this  man  suddenly 
shot  down  had  agitated  the  nerves  of  his  comrades, 
unaccustomed  to  scenes  of  war.  Some  of  them,  in 
fact,  quietly  left  the  hill,  and  did  not  return  to  it. 

To  inspire  confidence  by  example,  Prescott  now 
mounted  the  parapet,  and  walked  leisurely  about, 
inspecting  the  works,  giving  directions,  and  talking 
cheerfully  with  the  men.  In  a  little  while  they  got 
over  their  dread  of  cannon-balls,  and  some  even  made 
them  a  subject  of  joke,  or  rather  bravado ;  a  species 
of  sham  courage  occasionally  manifested  by  young 
soldiers,  but  never  by  veterans. 

The  cannonading  roused  the  town  of  Boston. 
General  Gage  could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes,  when  he 
beheld  on  the  opposite  hill  a  fortification  full  of  men, 
which  had  sprung  up  in  the  course  of  the  night.  As 
he  reconnoitered  it  through  a  glass  from  Copp's  Hill, 
the  tall  figure  of  Prescott,  in  military  garb,  walking 
the  parapet,  caught  his  eye.  "Who  is  that  officer 
who  appears  in  command  ?  "  asked  he.  The  question 
was  answered  by  Counsellor  Willard,  Prescott's  bro- 
ther-in-law, who  was  at  hand,  and  recognized  his  rela- 
tive. "Will  he  fight?"  demanded  Gage,  quickly. 
"  Yes,  sir !  he  is  an  old  soldier,  and  will  fight  to  the 


470  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

last   drop   of  blood;  but  I   cannot  answer  for  his 


men." 


"  The  works  must  be  carried !  "  exclaimed  Gage. 

He  called  a  council  of  war.  The  Americans  might 
intend  to  cannonade  Boston  from  this  new  fortification  ; 
it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  dislodge  them.  How 
was  this  to  be  done  ?  A  majority  of  the  council,  inclu- 
ding Clinton  and  Grant,  advised  that  a  force  should  be 
landed  on  Charlestown  Neck,  under  the  protection  of 
their  batteries,  so  as  to  attack  the  Americans  in  rear, 
and  cut  off  their  retreat.  General  Gage  objected  that 
it  would  place  his  troops  between  two  armies  ;  one  at 
Cambridge,  superior  in  numbers,  the  other  on  the 
heights,  strongly  fortified.  He  was  for  landing  in 
front  of  the  works,  and  pushing  directly  up  the  hill ; 
a  plan  adopted,  through  a  confidence  that  raw  militia 
would  never  stand  their  ground  against  the  assault  of 
veteran  troops ;  another  instance  of  undervaluing  the 
American  spirit,  which  was  to  cost  the  enemy  a  lamen- 
table loss  of  life. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


The  sound  of  drum  and  trumpet,  the  clatter  of  hoofs, 
the  rattling  of  gun-carriages,  and  all  the  other  military 
din  and  bustle  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  soon  apprised 
the  Americans  on  their  rudely  fortified  height  of  an  im- 
pending attack.  They  were  ill  fitted  to  withstand  it, 
being  jaded  by  the  night's  labor,  and  want  of  sleep ; 
hungry  and  thirsty,  having  brought  but  scanty  supplies, 
and  oppressed  by  the  heat  of  the  weather.  Prescott 
sent  repeated  messages  to  General  Ward,  asking  rein- 
forcements and  provisions.  Putnam  seconded  the  re- 
quest in  person,  urging  the  exigencies  of  the  case. 
Ward  hesitated.  He  feared  to  weaken  his  main  body 
at  Cambridge,  as  his  military  stores  were  deposited 
there,  and  it  might  have  to  sustain  the  principal  attack. 
At  length,  having  taken  advice  of  the  council  of  safety, 
he  issued  orders  for  Colonels  Stark  and  Reed,  then  at 
Medford,  to  march  to  the  relief  of  Prescott  with  their 
New  Hampshire  regiments.  The  orders  reached  Med- 
ford about  11  o'clock.     Ammunition  was  distributed 


472  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

in  all  haste ;  two  flints,  a  gill  of  powder,  and  fifteen 
balls  to  each  man.  The  balls  had  to  be  suited  to  the 
different  calibres  of  the  guns ;  the  powder  to  be  car- 
ried in  powder-horns,  or  loose  in  the  pocket,  for  there 
were  no  cartridges  prepared.  It  was  the  rude  turn 
out  of  yeoman  soldiery  destitute  of  regular  accoutre- 
ments. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  Americans  on  Breed's  Hill 
were  sustaining  the  fire  from  the  ships,  and  from  the 
battery  on  Copp's  Hill,  which  opened  upon  them 
about  ten  o'clock.  They  returned  an  occasional  shot 
from  one  corner  of  the  redoubt,  without  much  harm  to 
the  enemy,  and  continued  strengthening  their  position 
until  about  11  o'clock;  when  they  ceased  to  work, 
piled  up  their  intrenching  tools  in  the  rear,  and  looked 
out  anxiously  and  impatiently  for  the  anticipated  rein- 
forcements and  supplies. 

About  this  time  General  Putnam,  who  had  been  to 
head-quarters,  arrived  at  the  redoubt  on  horseback. 
Some  words  passed  between  him  and  Prescott  with 
regard  to  the  intrenching  tools,  which  have  been  vari^ 
ously  reported.  The  most  probable  version  is,  that  he 
urged  to  have  them  taken  from  their  present  place, 
where  they  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
and  carried  to  Bunker's  Hill,  to  be  employed  in  throw- 
ing up  a  redoubt,  which  was  part  of  the  original  plan, 
and  which  would  be  very  important  should  the  troops 
be  obliged  to  retreat  from  Breed's  Hill.  To  this  Pres- 
cott demurred  that  those  employed  to  convey  them, 
and  who  were  already  jaded  with  toil,  might  not  re- 
turn to  his  redoubt.  A  large  part  of  the  tools  were 
ultimately  carried  to  Bunker's  Hill,  and  a  breastwork 


1775.]  APPROACH    OF   THE   ENEMY.  473 

commenced  by  order  of  General  Putnam.  The  impor- 
tance of  such  a  work  was  afterwards  made  apparent. 

About  noon  the  Americans  descried  twenty-eight 
barges  crossing  from  Boston  in  parallel  lines.  They 
contained  a  large  detachment  of  grenadiers,  rangers, 
and  light  infantry,  admirably  equipped,  and  commanded 
by  Major-general  Howe.  They  made  a  splendid  and 
formidable  appearance  with  their  scarlet  uniforms,  and 
the  sun  flashing  upon  muskets  and  bayonets,  and  brass 
field-pieces.  A  heavy  fire  from  the  ships  and  batteries 
covered  their  advance,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  op- 
pose them,  and  they  landed  about  1  o'clock  at  Moul- 
ton's  Point,  a  little  to  the  north  of  Breed's  Hill. 

Here  General  Howe  made  a  pause.  On  reconnoi- 
tering  the  works  from  this  point,  the  Americans  ap- 
peared to  be  much  more  strongly  posted  than  he  had 
imagined.  He  descried  troops  also  hastening  to  their 
assistance.  These  were  the  New  Hampshire  troops  led 
on  by  Stark.  Howe  immediately  sent  over  to  Genera] 
Gage  for  more  forces,  and  a  supply  of  cannon-balls ; 
those  brought  by  him  being  found,  through  some  egre- 
gious oversight,  too  large  for  the  ordnance.  While 
awaiting  their  arrival,  refreshments  were  served  out  to 
the  troops,  with  "  grog,"  by  the  bucketful ;  and  tanta- 
lizing it  was,  to  the  hungry  and  thirsty  provincials,  to 
look  down  from  their  ramparts  of  earth,  and  see  their 
invaders  seated  in  groups  upon  the  grass,  eating  and 
drinking,  and  preparing  themselves  by  a  hearty  meal 
for  the  coming  encounter.  Their  only  consolation  was 
to  take  advantage  of  the  delay,  while  the  enemy  were 
carousing,  to  strengthen  their  position.  The  breastwork 
on  the  left  of  the  redoubt  extended  to  what  was  called 


474  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

the  Slough,  but  beyond  this,  the  ridge  of  the  bill,  and 
the  slope  toward  Mystic  River,  were  undefended,  leav 
ing  a  pass  by  which  the  enemy  might  turn  the  left  flank 
of  the  position,  and  seize  upon  Bunker's  Hill.  Putnam 
ordered  his  chosen  officer,  Captain  Knowlton,  to  cover 
this  pass  with  the  Connecticut  troops  under  his  com- 
mand. A  novel  kind  of  rampart,  savoring  of  rural  de- 
vice, was  suggested  by  the  rustic  general.  About  six 
hundred  feet  in  the  rear  of  the  redoubt,  and  about 
one  hundred  feet  to  the  left  of  the  breastwork, 
was  a  post-and-rail  fence,  set  in  a  low  foot-wall 
of  stone,  and  extending  down  to  Mystic  River.  The 
posts  and  rails  of  another  fence  were  hastily  pulled  up, 
and  set  a  few  feet  in  behind  this,  and  the  intermediate 
space  was  filled  up  with  new  mown  hay  from  the  adja- 
cent meadows.  This  double  fence,  it  will  be  found, 
proved  an  important  protection  to  the  redoubt,  although 
there  still  remained  an  unprotected  interval  of  about 
seven  hundred  feet. 

While  Knowlton  and  his  men  were  putting  up  this 
fence,  Putnam  proceeded  with  other  of  his  troops  to 
throw  up  the  work  on  Bunker's  Hill,  despatching  his 
son,  Captain  Putnam,  on  horseback,  to  hurry  up  the  re- 
mainder of  his  men  from  Cambridge.  By  this  time 
his  compeer  in  Prench  and  Indian  warfare,  the  veteran 
Stark,  made  his  appearance  with  the  New  Hampshire 
troops,  five  hundred  strong.  He  had  grown  cool  and 
wary  with  age,  and  his  march  from  Medford,  a  dis- 
tance of  five  or  six  miles,  had  been  in  character.  He 
led  his  men  at  a  moderate  pace  to  bring  them  into  ac- 
tion fresh  and  vigorous.  In  crossing  the  Neck,  which 
was  enfiladed  by  the  enemy's  ships  and  batteries,  Cap- 


1775.J  NOBLE    CONDUCT   OF   WARREN.  475 

tain  Dearborn,  who  was  by  his  side,  suggested  a  quick 
step.  The  veteran  shook  his  head  :  "  One  fresh  man 
in  action  is  worth  ten  tired  ones,"  replied  he,  and 
marched  steadily  on. 

Putnam  detained  some  of  Stark's  men  to  aid  in 
throwing  up  the  works  on  Bunker's  Hill,  and  directed 
him  to  reinforce  Knowlton  with  the  rest.  Stark  made 
a  short  speech  to  his  men  now  that  they  were  likely  to 
have  warm  work.  He  then  pushed  on,  and  did  good 
service  that  day  at  the  rustic  bulwark. 

About  2  o'clock,  Warren  arrived  on  the  heights, 
ready  to  engage  in  their  perilous  defence,  although  he 
had  opposed  the  scheme  of  their  occupation.  He  had 
recently  been  elected  a  major-general,  but  had  not  re- 
ceived his  commission  ;  like  Pomeroy,  he  came  to  serve 
in  the  ranks  with  a  musket  on  his  shoulder.  Putnam 
offered  him  the  command  at  the  fence  ;  he  declined  it, 
and  merely  asked  where  he  could  be  of  most  service 
as  a  volunteer.  Putnam  pointed  to  the  redoubt,  ob- 
serving that  there  he  would  be  under  cover.  "  Don't 
think  I  seek  a  place  of  safety,"  replied  Warren,  quickly ; 
"where  will  the  attack  be  hottest?"  Putnam  still 
pointed  to  the  redoubt.  "  That  is  the  enemy's  object ; 
if  that  can  be  maintained,  the  day  is  ours."  Warren 
was  cheered  by  the  troops  as  he  entered  the  redoubt. 
Colonel  Prescott  tendered  him  the  command.  He 
.again  declined.  "  I  have  come  to  serve  only  as  a  vol- 
unteer, and  shall  be  happy  to  learn  from  a  soldier  of 
your  experience."  Such  were  the  noble  spirits  assem- 
bled on  these  perilous  heights. 

The  British  now  prepared  for  a  general  assault. 
An  easy  victory  was  anticipated ;  the  main  thought  was, 


476  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

how  to  make  it  most  effectual.  The  left  wing,  com- 
manded by  General  Pigot,  was  to  mount  the  hill  and 
force  the  redoubt,  while  General  Howe,  with  the  right 
wing,  was  to  push  on  between  the  fort  and  Mystic 
River,  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  Americans,  and  cut  off 
their  retreat. 

General  Pigot,  accordingly,  advanced  up  the  hill 
under  cover  of  a  fire  from  field-pieces  and  howitzers 
planted  on  a  small  height  near  the  landing-place  on 
Moulton's  Point.  His  troops  commenced  a  discharge 
of  musketry  while  yet  at  a  long  distance  from  the  re- 
doubts. The  Americans  within  the  works,  obedient  to 
strict  command,  retained  their  fire  until  the  enemy  were 
within  thirty  or  forty  paces,  when  they  opened  upon 
them  with  a  tremendous  volley.  Being  all  marksmen, 
accustomed  to  take  deliberate  aim,  the  slaughter  was 
immense,  and  especially  fatal  to  officers.  The  assail- 
ants fell  back  in  some  confusion ;  but,  rallied  on  by 
their  officers,  advanced  within  pistol  shot.  Another 
volley,  more  effective  than  the  first,  made  them  again 
recoil.  To  add  to  their  confusion,  they  were  galled  by 
a  flanking  fire  from  the  handful  of  Provincials  posted  in 
Chaiiestown.  Shocked  at  the  carnage,  and  seeing  the 
confusion  of  his  troops,  General  Pigot  was  urged  to 
give  the  word  for  a  retreat. 

In  the  mean  while,  General  Howe,  with  the  left 
wing,  advanced  along  Mystic  River,  toward  the  fence 
where  Stark,  Reed  and  Knowlton  were  stationed,  think-* 
ing  to  carry  this  slight  breastwork  with  ease,  and  so 
get  in  the  rear  of  the  fortress.  His  artillery  proved  of 
little  avail,  being  stopped  by  a  swampy  piece  of  ground, 
while  his  columns  suffered  from  two  or  three  field-pieces 


1775.]  THE    SECOND    ASSAULT.  477 

with  which  Putnam  had  fortified  the  fence.  Howe's 
men  kept  up  a  fire  of  musketry  as  they  advanced ;  but 
not  taking  aim,  their  shot  passed  over  the  heads  of  the 
Americans.  The  latter  had  received  the  same  orders 
with  those  in  the  redoubt,  not  to  fire  until  the  enemy 
should  be  within  thirty  paces.  Some  few  transgressed 
the  command.  Putnam  rode  up,  and  swore  he  would 
cut  down  the  next  man  that  fired  contrary  to  orders. 
When  the  British  arrived  within  the  stated  distance,  a 
sheeted  fire  opened  upon  them  from  rifles,  muskets,  and 
fowling-pieces,  all  levelled  with  deadly  aim.  The  car- 
nage, as  in  the  other  instance,  was  horrible.  The 
British  were  thrown  into  confusion  and  fell  back ;  some 
even  retreated  to  the  boats. 

There  was  a  general  pause  on  the  part  of  the  Brit- 
ish. The  American  officers  availed  themselves  of  it  to 
prepare  for  another  attack,  which  must  soon  be  made. 
Prescott  mingled  among  his  men  in  the  redoubt,  who 
were  all  in  high  spirits  at  the  severe  check  they  had 
given  "the  regulars."  He  praised  them  for  their 
steadfastness  in  maintaining  their  post,  and  their  good 
conduct  in  reserving  their  fire  until  the  word  of  com- 
mand, and  exhorted  them  to  do  the  same  in  the  next 
attack. 

Putnam  rode  about  Thinker's  Hill  and  its  skirts,  to 
rally  and  bring  on  reinforcements  which  had  been  checked 
or  scattered  in  crossing  Charlestown  Neck  by  the  rak- 
ing fire  from  the  ships  and  batteries.  Before  many 
could  be  brought  to  the  scene  of  action  the  British  had 
commenced  their  second  attack.  They  again  ascended 
the  hill  to  storm  the  redoubt;  their  advance  was 
covered  as  before  by  discharges  of  artillery.     Charles- 


478  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775, 

town,  which  had  annoyed  them  on  their  first  attack  by 
a  flanking  fire,  was  in  flames,  by  shells  thrown  from 
Copp's  Hill,  and  by  marines  from  the  ships.  Being 
built  of  wood,  the  place  was  soon  wrapped  in  a  general 
conflagration.  The  thunder  of  artillery  from  batteries 
and  ships ;  the  bursting  of  bomb -shells ;  the  sharp  dis- 
charges of  musketry ;  the  shouts  and  yells  of  the  com- 
batants ;  the  crash  of  burning  buildings,  and  the  dense 
volumes  of  smoke,  which  obscured  the  summer  sun,  all 
formed  a  tremendous  spectacle.  "  Sure  I  am,"  said 
Burgoyne  in  one  of  his  letters, — "  Sure  I  am  nothing 
ever  has  or  ever  can  be  more  dreadfully  terrible  than 
what  was  to  to  be  seen  or  heard  at  this  time.  The 
most  incessant  discharge  of  guns  that  ever  was  heard 
by  mortal  ears." 

The  American  troops,  although  unused  to  war,  stood 
undismayed  amidst  a  scene  where  it  was  bursting  upon 
them  with  all  its  horrors.  Reserving  their  fire,  as  be- 
fore, until  the  enemy  was  close  at  hand,  they  again 
poured  forth  repeated  volleys  with  the  fatal  aim  of 
sharpshooters.  The  British  stood  the  first  shock,  and 
continued  to  advance ;  but  the  incessant  stream  of  fire 
staggered  them.  Their  officers  remonstrated,  threat- 
ened, and  even  attempted  to  goad  them  on  with  their 
swords,  but  the  havoc  was  too  deadly ;  whole  ranks  were 
mowed  down ;  many  of  the  officers  were  either  slain  or 
wounded,  and  among  them  several  of  the  staff  of 
General  Howe.  The  troops  again  gave  way  and  re- 
treated down  the  hill. 

All  this  passed  under  the  eye  of  thousands  of  spec- 
tators of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  watching  from  afar 
every  turn  of  a  battle  in  which  the  lives  of  those  most 


1775.]  THE   THIRD    ATTACK.  479 

dear  to  them  were  at  hazard.  The  British  soldiery  in 
Boston  gazed  with  astonishment  and  almost  incredulity 
at  the  resolute  and  protracted  stand  of  raw  militia, 
whom  they  had  been  taught  to  despise,  and  at  the 
havoc  made  among  their  own  veteran  troops.  Every 
convoy  of  wounded  brought  over  to  the  town  increased 
their  consternation;  and  General  Clinton,  who  had 
watched  the  action  from  Copp's  Hill,  embarking  in  a 
boat,  hurried  over  as  a  volunteer,  taking  with  him  rein- 
forcements. 

A  third  attack  was  now  determined  on,  though 
some  of  Howe's  officers  remonstrated,  declaring  it 
would  be  downright  butchery.  A  different  plan  was 
adopted.  Instead  of  advancing  in  front  of  the  redoubt, 
it  was  to  be  taken  in  flank  on  the  left,  where  the  open 
space  between  the  breastwork  and  the  fortified  fence 
presented  a  weak  point.  It  having  been  accidentally  dis- 
covered that  the  ammunition  of  the  Americans  was  nearly 
expended,  preparations  were  made  to  carry  the  works  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet ;  and  the  soldiery  threw  off 
their  knapsacks,  and  some  even  their  coats,  to  be  more 
light  for  action. 

General  Howe,  with  the  main  body,  now  made  a 
feint  of  attacking  the  fortified  fence ;  but,  while  a  part 
of  his  force  was  thus  engaged,  the  rest  brought  some 
of  the  field-pieces  to  enfilade  the  breastwork  on  the  left 
of  the  redoubt.  A  raking  fire  soon  drove  the  Ame- 
ricans out  of  this  exposed  place  into  the  inclosure. 
Much  damage,  too,  was  done  in  the  latter  by  balls 
which  entered  the  sallyport. 

The  troops  were  now  led  on  to  assail  the  works ; 
those  who  flinched  were,  as  before,  goaded  on  by  the 


480  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

swords  of  the  officers.     The  Americans  again  reserved 
their  fire  until  their  assailants  were  close  at  hand,  and 
then  made  a  murderous  volley,  by  which  several  officers 
were  laid  low,  and  General  Howe  himself  was  wounded 
in  the  foot.     The  British  soldiery  this  time  likewise  re- 
served their  fire,  and  rushed  on  with  fixed  bayonet. 
Clinton  and  Pigot  had  reached  the  southern  and  eastern 
sides  of  the  redoubt,  and  it  was  now  assailed  on  three 
sides  at  once.      Prescott   ordered  those  who  had  no 
bayonets  to  retire  to  the  back  part  of  the  redoubt,  and 
fire  on  the  enemy  as  they  showed  themselves  on  the 
parapet.     The  first  who  mounted  exclaimed  in  triumph, 
"  The  day  is  ours  !  "     He  was  instantly  shot  down,  and 
so  were  several  others  who  mounted  about  the  same 
time.     The  Americans,  however,  had  fired  their  last 
round,  their  ammunition  was  exhausted ;  and  now  suc- 
ceeded a  desperate  and  deadly  struggle,  hand  to  hand, 
with  bayonets,  stones,  and  the  stocks  of  their  muskets. 
At  length  as  the  British  continued  to  pour  in,  Prescott 
gave  the  order  to  retreat.     His  men  had  to  cut  their 
way  through  two  divisions  of  the  enemy  who  were  get- 
ting in  rear  of  the  redoubt,  and  they  received  a  des- 
tructive volley  from  those  who  had  formed  on  the  cap- 
tured works.     By  that  volley  fell  the  patriot  Warren, 
who  had  distinguished  himself  throughout  the  action. 
He  was  among  the  last  to  leave  the  redoubt,  and  had 
scarce  done  so  when  he  was  shot  through  the  head  with 
a  musket-ball,  and  fell  dead  on  the  spot. 

While  the  Americans  were  thus  slowly  dislodged 
from  the  redoubt,  Stark,  Reed  and  Knowlton  maintained 
their  ground  at  the  fortified  fence ;  which,  indeed,  had 
been  nobly  defended  throughout  the  action.     Pomeroy 


1775.]  THE   RETREAT.  481 

distinguished  himself  here  by  his  sharp-shooting,  until 
his  musket  was  shattered  by  a  ball.  The  resistance  at 
this  hastily  constructed  work  was  kept  up  after  the 
troops  in  the  redoubt  had  given  way,  and  until  Colonel 
Prescott  had  left  the  hill;  thus  defeating  General 
Howe's  design  of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  the  main 
body ;  which  would  have  produced  a  scene  of  direful 
confusion  and  slaughter.  Having  effected  their  pur- 
pose, the  brave  associates  at  the  fence  abandoned  their 
weak  outpost,  retiring  slowly,  and  disputing  the  ground 
inch  by  inch,  with  a  regularity  remarkable  in  troops 
many  of  whom  had  never  before  been  in  action. 

The  main  retreat  was  across  Bunker's  Hill,  where 
Putnam  had  endeavored  to  throw  up  a  breastwork. 
The  veteran,  sword  in  hand,  rode  to  the  rear  of  the 
retreating  troops,  regardless  of  the  balls  whistling  about 
him.  His  only  thought  was  to  rally  them  at  the  un- 
finished works.  "  Halt !  make  a  stand  here !  "  cried 
he,  "  we  can  check  them  yet.  In  God's  name,  form, 
and  give  them  one  shot  more." 

Pomeroy,  wielding  his  shattered  musket  as  a  trun- 
cheon, seconded  him  in  his  efforts  to  stay  the  torrent. 
It  was  impossible,  however,  to  bring  the  troops  to  a 
stand.  They  continued  on  down  the  hill  to  the  Neck, 
and  across  it  to  Cambridge,  exposed  to  a  raking  fire 
from  the  ships  and  batteries,  and  only  protected  by  a 
single  piece  of  ordnance.  The  British  were  too  ex- 
hausted to  pursue  them;  they  contented  themselves 
with  taking  possession  of  Bunker's  Hill,  were  reinforced 
from  Boston,  and  threw  up  additional  works  during  the 
night. 

We  have  collected  the  preceding  facts  from  various 

VOL.    I. 31 


482  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

sources,  examining  them  carefully,  and  endeavoring  to 
arrange  them  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  We  may  ap- 
pear to  have  been  more  minute  in  the  account  of  the 
battle  than  the  number  of  troops  engaged  would  warrant ; 
but  it  was  one  of  the  most  momentous  conflicts  in  our 
revolutionary  history.  It  was  the  first  regular  battle  be- 
tween the  British  and  the  Americans,  and  most  event- 
ful in  its  consequences.  The  former  had  gained  the 
ground  for  which  they  contended ;  but,  if  a  victory,  it 
was  more  disastrous  and  humiliating  to  them  than  an 
ordinary  defeat.  They  had  ridiculed  and  despised  their 
enemy,  representing  them  as  dastardly  and  inefficient ; 
yet  here  their  best  troops,  led  on  by  experienced  officers, 
had  repeatedly  been  repulsed  by  an  inferior  force  of 
that  enemy, — mere  yeomanry, — from  works  thrown  up 
in  a  single  night,  and  had  suffered  a  loss  rarely  paralleled 
in  battle  with  the  most  veteran  soldiery  ;  for  according 
to  their  own  returns,  their  killed  and  wounded,  out  of  a 
detachment  of  two  thousand  men,  amounted  to  one  thou- 
sand and  fifty-four,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them 
officers.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  did  not  exceed 
four  hundred  and  fifty. 

To  the  latter  this  defeat,  if  defeat  it  might  be  called, 
had  the  effect  of  a  triumph.  It  gave  them  confidence 
in  themselves  and  consequence  in  the  eyes  of  their  ene- 
mies. They  had  proved  to  themselves  and  to  others, 
that  they  could  measure  weapons  with  the  disciplined 
soldiers  of  Europe,  and  inflict  the  most  harm  in  the 
conflict. 

Among  the  British  officers  slain  was  Major  Pit- 
cairn,  who,  at  Lexington,  had  shed  the  first  blood  in 
the  Revolutionary  war. 


1775.]  WARREN PRESC0TT PUTNAM.  483 

In  the  death  of  Warren  the  Americans  had  to  lament 
the  loss  of  a  distinguished  patriot  and  a  most  estimable 
man.  It  was  deplored  as  a  public  calamity.  His 
friend  Elbridge  Gerry  had  endeavored  to  dissuade  him 
from  risking  his  life  in  this  perilous  conflict :  "  Dulce  et 
decorum  est  pro  patria  mori,"  replied  Warren,  as  if  he 
had  foreseen  his  fate — a  fate  to  be  envied  by  those  am- 
bitious of  an  honorable  fame.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
who  fell  in  the  glorious  cause  of  his  country,  and  his 
name  has  become  consecrated  in  its  history. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  of  the  relative 
merits  of  the  American  officers  engaged  in  this  affair — 
a  difficult  question  where  no  one  appears  to  have  had  the 
general  command.  Prescott  conducted  the  troops  in 
the  night  enterprise  ;  he  superintended  the  building  of 
the  redoubt,  and  defended  it  throughout  the  battle ;  his 
name,  therefore,  will  ever  shine  most  conspicuous,  and 
deservedly  so,  on  this  bright  page  of  our  Revolutionary 
history. 

Putnam  also  was  a  leading  spirit  throughout  the 
affair ;  one  of  the  first  to  prompt  and  of  the  last  to  main- 
tain it.  He  appears  to  have  been  active  and  efficient  at 
every  point ;  sometimes  fortifying ;  sometimes  hurrying 
up  reinforcements ;  inspiriting  the  men  by  his  presence 
while  they  were  able  to  maintain  their  ground,  and 
fighting  gallantly  at  the  outpost  to  cover  their  retreat. 
The  brave  old  man,  riding  about  in  the  heat  of  the  ac- 
tion, on  this  sultry  day,  "  with  a  hanger  belted  across  his 
brawny  shoulders,  over  a  waistcoat  without  sleeves,"  has 
been  sneered  at  by  a  contemporary,  as  "  much  fitter  to 
head  a  band  of  sickle  men  or  ditchers  than  musketeers/' 
But  this  very  description  illustrates  his  character,  and 


484  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

identifies  him  with  the  times  and  the  service,  A  yeo- 
man warrior  fresh  from  the  plough,  in  the  garb  of  rural 
labor ;  a  patriot  brave  and  generous,  but  rough  and  ready, 
who  thought  not  of  himself  in  time  of  danger,  but  was 
ready  to  serve  in  any  way,  and  to  sacrifice  official  rank 
and  self-glorification  to  the  good  of  the  cause.  He  was 
eminently  a  soldier  for  the  occasion.  His  name  has 
long  been  a  favorite  one  with  young  and  old ;  one  of 
the  talismanic  names  of  the  Revolution,  the  very  men- 
tion of  which  is  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  Such 
names  are  the  precious  jewels  of  our  history,  to  be 
garnered  up  among  the  treasures  of  the  nation,  and 
kept  immaculate  from  the  tarnishing  breath  of  the 
cynic  and  the  doubter. 

Note. — In  treating  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  and  of  other 
occurrences  about  Boston  at  this  period  of  the  Revolution,  we  have 
had  repeated  occasion  to  consult  the  History  of  the  Siege  of  Boston, 
by  Richard  Frothingham,  Jr. ;  a  work  abounding  with  facts  as  to 
persons  and  events,  and  full  of  interest  for  the  American  reader. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

DEPABTUEE  FEOM  PHILADELPHIA — ANECDOTES  OF  GENEEAL  SCHUYLEE— 
OP  LEE — TIDINGS  OF  BUNKEB  HILL — MILITAEY  COUNCILS — POPULATION 
OF  NEW  YOEK — THE  JOHNSON  FAMILY — GOVEENOB  TEYON — ABEIYAL 
AT  NEW  YOBK — MILITAEY  INSTBUCTIONS  TO  SOHUYLEB — AEEIVAL  AT 
THE   CAMP. 

In  a  preceding  chapter  we  left  Washington  preparing 
to  depart  from  Philadelphia  for  the  army  before  Bos- 
ton. He  set  out  on  horseback  on  the  21st  of  June, 
having  for  military  companions  of  his  journey  Major- 
generals  Lee  and  Schuyler,  and  being  accompanied  for 
a  distance  by  several  private  friends.  As  an  escort  he 
had  a  "  gentleman  troop  "  of  Philadelphia,  commanded 
by  Captain  Markoe;  the  whole  formed  a  brilliant 
cavalcade. 

General  Schuyler  was  a  man  eminently  calculated 
to  sympathize  with  Washington  in  all  his  patriotic 
views  and  feelings,  and  became  one  of  his  most  faithful 
coadjutors.  Sprung  from  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
respectable  Dutch  families  which  colonized  New  York, 
all  his  interests  and  affections  were  identified  with  the 
country.  He  had  received  a  good  education ;  applied 
himself  at  an  early  age  to  'the  exact  sciences,  and  be- 
came versed  in  finance,  military  engineering,  and  politi- 


486  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

cal  economy.  He  was  one  of  those  native  born  soldiers 
who  had  acquired  experience  in  that  American  school 
of  arms,  the  old  French  war.  When  but  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  he  commanded  a  company  of  New  York 
levies  under  Sir  William  Johnson,  of  Mohawk  renown, 
which  gave  him  an  early  opportunity  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  Indian  tribes,  their  country  and 
their  policy.  In  1758  he  was  in  Abercrombie's  expedi- 
tion against  Ticonderoga,  accompanying  Lord  Viscount 
Howe  as  chief  of  the  commissariat  department ;  a  post 
well  qualified  to  give  him  experience  in  the  business 
part  of  war.  When  that  gallant  young  nobleman  fell 
on  the  banks  of  Lake  George,  Schuyler  conveyed  his 
corpse  back  to  Albany,  and  attended  to  his  honorable 
obsequies.  Since  the  close  of  the  French  war  he  had 
served  his  country  in  various  civil  stations,  and  ,  been 
one  of  the  most  zealous  and  eloquent  vindicators  of 
colonial  rights.  He  was  one  of  the  "  glorious  mino- 
rity" of  the  New  York  General  Assembly;  George 
Clinton,  Colonel  Woodhull,  Colonel  Philip  Livingston, 
and  others ;  who,  when  that  body  was  timid  and 
wavering,  battled  nobly  against  British  influence  and 
oppression.  His  last  stand  had  been  recently  as  a  del- 
egate to  Congress,  where  he  had  served  with  Wash- 
ington on  the  committee  to  prepare  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  army,  and  where  the  latter  had  witnessed 
his  judgment,  activity,  practical  science,  and  sincere 
devotion  to  the  cause. 

Many  things  concurred  to  produce  perfect  harmony 
of  operation  between  these  distinguished  men.  They 
were  nearly  of  the  same  age,  Schuyler  being  one  year 
the  youngest.     Both  were  men  of  agricultural,  as  well 


1775.]  GENERAL    SCHUYLER LEE.  487 

as  military  tastes.  Both  were  men  of  property,  living  at 
their  ease  in  little  rural  paradises ;  Washington  on  the 
grove-clad  heights  of  Mount  Vernon,  Schuyler  on  the 
pastoral  banks  of  the  upper  Hudson,  where  he  had  a 
noble  estate  at  Saratoga,  inherited  from  an  uncle ;  and 
the  old  family  mansion,  near  the  city  of  Albany,  half 
hid  among  ancestral  trees.  Yet  both  were  exiling  them- 
selves from  these  happy  abodes,  and  putting  life  and  for- 
tune at  hazard  in  the  service  of  their  country. 

Schuyler  and  Lee  had  early  military  recollections  to 
draw  them  together.  Both  had  served  under  Aber- 
crombie  in  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga.  There 
was  some  part  of  Lee's  conduct  in  that  expedition  which 
both  he  and  Schuyler  might  deem  it  expedient  at  this  mo- 
ment to  forget.  Lee  was  at  that  time  a  young  captain, 
naturally  presumptuous,  and  flushed  with  the  arrogance 
of  military  power.  On  his  march  along  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson,  he  acted  as  if  in  a  conquered  country ; 
impressing  horses  and  oxen,  and  seizing  upon  supplies, 
without  exhibiting  any  proper  warrant.  It  was  enough 
for  him,  "  they  were  necessary  for  the  service  of  his 
troops."  Should  any  one  question  his  right,  the  reply 
was  a  volley  of  execrations. 

Among  those  who  experienced  this  unsoldierly  treat- 
ment was  Mrs.  Schuyler,  the  aunt  of  the  general ;  a 
lady  of  aristocratical  station,  revered  throughout  her 
neighborhood.  Her  cattle  were  impressed,  herself  in- 
sulted. She  had  her  revenge.  After  the  unfortunate 
affair  at  Ticonderoga,  a  number  of  the  wounded  were 
brought  down  along  the  Hudson  to  the  Schuyler  man- 
sion. Lee  was  among  the  number.  The  high-minded 
mistress  of  the  house  never  alluded  to  his  past  con- 


488  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

duct.  He  was  received  like  his  brother  officers  with 
the  kindest  sympathy.  Sheets  and  tablecloths  were 
torn  up  to  serve  as  bandages.  Every  thing  was  done 
to  alleviate  their  sufferings.  Lee's  cynic  heart  was  con- 
quered. "  He  swore  in  his  vehement  manner,  that  he 
was  sure  there  would  be  a  place  reserved  for  Mrs.  Schuy- 
ler in  heaven,  though  no  other  woman  should  be  there, 
and  that  he  should  wish  for  nothing  better  than  to  share 
her  final  destiny  I "  * 

Seventeen  years  had  since  elapsed,  and  Lee  and  the 
nephew  of  Mrs.  Schuyler  were  again  allied  in  mili- 
tary service,  but  under  a  different  banner ;  and  recollec- 
tions of  past  times  must  have  given  peculiar  interest 
to  their  present  intercourse.  In  fact,  the  journey  of 
Washington  with  his  associate  generals,  experienced  like 
him  in  the  wild  expeditions  of  the  old  French  war,  was 
a  revival  of  early  campaigning  feelings. 

They  had  scarcely  proceeded  twenty  miles  from  Phila- 
delphia when  they  were  met  by  a  courier,  spurring  with  all 
speed,  bearing  despatches  from  the  army  to  Congress, 
communicating  tidings  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill. 
Washington  eagerly  inquired  particulars ;  above  all,  how 
acted  the  militia?  When  told  that  they  stood  their 
ground  bravely ;  sustained  the  enemy's  fire — reserved 
their  own  until  at  close  quarters,  and  then  delivered  it 
with  deadly  effect ;  it  seemed  as  if  a  weight  of  doubt  and 
solicitude  were  lifted  from  his  heart.  "  The  liberties  of 
the  country  are  safe ! "  exclaimed  he. 

The  news  of  the'  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  had  star- 
tled the  whole  country ;  and  this  clattering  cavalcade, 

*  Memoirs  of  an  American  lady  (Mrs.  Grant,  of  Laggan),  vol  ii.,  chap.  ix. 


1775  J  MILITARY    COUNCILS.  489 

escorting  the  commander-in-chief  to  the  army,  was  the 
gaze  and  wonder  of  every  town  and  village. 

The  journey  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  continnal 
council  of  war  between  Washington  and  the  two  gene- 
rals. Even  the  contrast  in  character  of  the  two  latter 
made  them  regard  questions  from  different  points  of 
view.  Schuyler,  a  warm-hearted  patriot,  with  every 
thing  staked  on  the  cause ;  Lee,  a  soldier  of  fortune, 
indifferent  to  the  ties  of  home  and  country,  drawing 
his  sword  without  enthusiasm ;  more  through  resent- 
ment against  a  government  which  had  disappointed 
him,  than  zeal  for  liberty  or  for  colonial  rights. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  subjects  of  conversation 
was  the  province  of  New  York.  Its  power  and  posi- 
tion rendered  it  the  great  link  of  the  confederacy  ;  what 
measures  were  necessary  for  its  defence,  and  most  cal- 
culated to  secure  its  adherence  to  the  cause  ?  A  lin- 
gering attachment  to  the  crown,  kept  up  by  the  influ- 
ence of  British  merchants,  and  military  and  civil  func- 
tionaries in  royal  pay,  had  rendered  it  slow  in  coming 
into  the  colonial  compact ;  and  it  was  only  on  the  con- 
temptuous dismissal  of  their  statement  of  grievances, 
unheard,  that  its  people  had  thrown  off  their  allegiance, 
as  much  in  sorrow  as  in  anger. 

No  person  was  better  fitted  to  give  an  account  of 
the  interior  of  New  York  than  General  Schuyler ;  and 
the  hawk-eyed  Lee  during  a  recent  sojourn  had  made 
its  capital  somewhat  of  a  study ;  but  there  was  much 
yet  for  both  of  them  to  learn. 

The  population  of  New  York  was  more  varied  in  its 
elements  than  that  of  almost  any  other  of  the  provin- 
ces, and  had  to  be  cautiously  studied.     The  New  York- 


490  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [17751 

eis  were  of  a  mixed  origin,  and  stamped  with  the  pecu- 
liarities of  their  respective  ancestors.  The  descendants 
of  the  old  Dutch  and  Huguenot  families,  the  earliest  set- 
tlers, were  still  among  the  soundest  and  best  of  the  pop- 
ulation. They  inherited  the  love  of  liberty,  civil  and 
religious,  of  their  forefathers,  and  were  those  who  stood 
foremost  in  the  present  struggle  for  popular  rights. 
Such  were  the  Jays,  the  Bensons,  the  Beekmans,  the 
Hoffmans,  the  Van  Homes,  the  Roosevelts,  the  Duyc- 
kinks,  the  Pintards,  the  Yateses,  and  others  whose 
names  figure  in  the  patriotic  documents  of  the  day. 
Some  of  them,  doubtless,  cherished  a  remembrance  of 
the  time  when  their  forefathers  were  lords  of  the  land, 
and  felt  an  innate  propensity  to  join  in  resistance  to  the 
government  by  which  their  supremacy  had  been  over- 
turned. A  great  proportion  of  the  more  modern  fami- 
lies, dating  from  the  downfall  of  the  Dutch  government 
in  1664,  were  English  and  Scotch,  and  among  these 
were  many  loyal  adherents  to  the  crown.  Then  there 
was  a  mixture  of  the  whole,  produced  by  the  intermar- 
riages of  upwards  of  a  century,  which  partook  of  every 
shade  of  character  and  sentiment.  The  operations  of 
foreign  commerce,  and  the  regular  communications  with 
the  mother  country  through  packets  and  ships  of  war, 
kept  these  elements  in  constant  action,  and  contributed 
to  produce  that  mercurial  temperament,  that  fondness 
for  excitement,  and  proneness  to  pleasure,  which  dis- 
tinguished them  from  their  neighbors  on  either  side — 
the  austere  Puritans  of  New  England,  and  the  quiet 
"  Eriends  "  of  Pennsylvania. 

There  was  a  power,  too,  of  a  formidable  kind  within 
the  interior  of  the  province,  which  was  an  object  of  much 


1775. J  THE    JOHNSON    FAMILY.  491 

solicitude.  This  was  the  "  Johnson  Family."  We  have 
repeatedly  had  occasion  to  speak  of  Sir  William  John- 
son, his  majesty's  general  agent  for  Indian  affairs,  of  his 
great  wealth,  and  his  almost  sovereign  sway  over  the  Six 
Nations.  He  had  originally  received  that  appointment 
through  the  influence  of  the  Schuyler  family.  Both 
Generals  Schuyler  and  Lee,  when  young  men,  had  cam- 
paigned with  him  ;  and  it  was  among  the  Mohawk  war- 
riors, who  rallied  under  his  standard,  that  Lee  had  be- 
held his  vaunted  models  of  good-breeding. 

In  the  recent  difficulties  between  the  crown  and  col- 
onies, Sir  William  had  naturally  been  in  favor  of  the 
government  which  had  enriched  and  honored  him,  but 
he  had  viewed  with  deep  concern  the  acts  of  Parliament 
which  were  goading  the  colonists  to  armed  resistance. 
In  the  height  of  his  solicitude,  he  received  despatches 
ordering  him,  in  case  of  hostilities,  to  enlist  the  Indians 
in  the  cause  of  government.  To  the  agitation  of  feel- 
ings produced  by  these  orders  many  have  attributed  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy,  of  which  he  died,  on  the  11th  of 
July,  1774,  about  a  year  before  the  time  of  which  we 
are  treating. 

His  son  and  heir,  Sir  John  Johnson,  and  his  sons- 
in-law,  Colonel  Guy  Johnson  and  Colonel  Claus,  felt 
none  of  the  reluctance  of  Sir  William  to  use  harsh  meas- 
ures in  support  of  royalty.  They  lived  in  a  degree  of 
rude  feudal  style  in  stone  mansions  capable  of  defence, 
situated  on  the  Mohawk  River  and  in  its  vicinity ;  they 
had  many  Scottish  Highlanders  for  tenants ;  and  among 
their  adherents  were  violent  men,  such  as  the  Butlers 
of  Tryon  County,  and  Brant,  the  Mohawk  sachem,  since 
famous  in  Indian  warfare.     They  had  recently  gone 


492  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

about  with  armed  retainers,  overawing  and  breaking  up 
patriotic  assemblages,  and  it  was  known  they  could  at 
any  time  bring  a  force  of  warriors  in  the  field. 

Recent  accounts  stated  that  Sir  John  was  fortifying 
the  old  family  hall  at  Johnstown  with  swivels,  and  had  a 
hundred  and  fifty  Roman  Catholic  Highlanders  quarter- 
ed in  and  about  it,  all  armed  and  ready  to  obey  his  orders. 

Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  however,  was  the  most  active 
and  zealous  of  the  family.  Pretending  to  apprehend  a 
design  on  the  part  of  the  New  England  people  to  sur- 
prise and  carry  him  off,  he  fortified  his  stone  mansion 
on  the  Mohawk,  called  Guy's  Park,  and  assembled 
there  a  part  of  his  militia  regiment,  and  other  of  his 
adherents,  to  the  number  of  five  hundred.  He  held  a 
great  Indian  council  there,  likewise,  in  which  the  chiefs 
of  the  Six  Nations  recalled  the  friendship  and  good  deeds 
of  the  late  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  avowed  their  de- 
termination to  stand  by  and  defend  every  branch  of  his 
family. 

As  yet  it  was  uncertain  whether  Colonel  Guy  really 
intended  to  take  an  open  part  in  the  appeal  to  arms. 
Should  he  do  so,  he  would  carry  with  him  a  great  force 
of  the  native  tribes,  and  might  almost  domineer  over 
the  frontier. 

Tryon,  the  governor  of  New  York,  was  at  present 
absent  in  England,  having  been  called  home  by  the  min- 
istry, to  give  an  account  of  the  affairs  of  the  province, 
and  to  receive  instructions  for  its  management.  He 
was  a  tory  in  heart,  and  had  been  a  zealous  opponent 
of  all  colonial  movements,  and  his  talents  and  address 
gave  him  great  influence  over  an  important  part  of  the 
community.     Should  he  return  with  hostile  instructions, 


1775.]    SCHUYLER   IN    COMMAND    OF   NEW   YORK.        493 

and  should  he  and  the  Johnsons  co-operate,  the  one 
controlling  the  bay  and  harbor  of  New  York  and  the 
waters  of  the  Hudson  by  means  of  ships  and  land  for- 
ces ;  the  others  overrunning  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk 
and  the  regions  beyond  Albany  with  savage  hordes,  this 
great  central  province  might  be  wrested  from  the  con- 
federacy, and  all  intercourse  broken  off  between  the 
eastern  and  southern  colonies. 

All  these  circumstances  and  considerations,  many 
of  which  came  under  discussion  in  the  course  of  this 
military  journey,  rendered  the  command  of  New  York 
a  post  of  especial  trust  and  importance,  and  deter- 
mined Washington  to  confide  it  to  General  Schuyler. 
He  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  it  by  his  military  talents, 
his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  province  and  its  con- 
cerns, especially  what  related  to  the  upper  parts  of  it, 
and  his  experience  in  Indian  affairs. 

At  Newark,  in  the  Jerseys,  Washington  was  met 
on  the  25th  by  a  committee  of  the  provincial  Con- 
gress, sent  to  conduct  him  to  the  city.  The  Congress 
was  in  a  perplexity.  It  had  in  a  manner  usurped  and 
exercised  the  powers  of  Governor  Tryon  during  his  ab- 
sence, while  at  the  same  time  it  professed  allegiance  to 
the  crown  which  had  appointed  him.  He  was  now  in 
the  harbor,  just  arrived  from  England,  and  hourly  ex- 
pected to  land.  Washington,  too,  was  approaching. 
How  were  these  double  claims  to  ceremonious  respect 
happening  at  the  same  time  to  be  managed  ? 

In  this  dilemma  a  regiment  of  militia  was  turned 
out,  and  the  colonel  instructed  to  pay  military  honors  to 
whichever  of  the  distinguished  functionaries  should 
first  arrive.     Washington  was  earlier  than  the  gover- 


494  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

nor  by  several  hours,  and  received  those  honors.  Peter 
Van  Burgh  Livingston,  president  of  the  New  York  Con- 
gress, next  delivered  a  congratulatory  address,  the  lat- 
ter part  of  which  evinces  the  cautious  reserve  with  which, 
in  these  revolutionary  times,  military  power  was  intrust- 
ed to  an  individual : — 

"  Confiding  in  you,  sir,  and  in  the  worthy  generals 
immediately  under  your  command,  we  have  the  most 
flattering  hopes  of  success  in  the  glorious  struggle  for 
American  liberty,  and  the  fullest  assurances  that  when- 
ever this  important  contest  shall  be  decided  by  that  fond- 
est wish  of  each  American  soul,  an  accommodation  with 
our  mother  country,  you  will  cheerfully  resign  the  impor- 
tant deposit  committed  into  your  hands,  and  reassume 
the  character  of  our  worthiest  citizen." 

The  following  was  Washington's  reply,  in  behalf  of 
himself  and  his  generals,  to  this  part  of  the  address. 

"  As  to  the  fatal,  but  necessary  operations  of  war, 
when  we  assumed  the  soldier,  we  did  not  lay  aside  the 
citizen  ;  and  we  shall  most  sincerely  rejoice  with  you  in 
that  happy  hour,  when  the  establishment  of  American 
liberty  on  the  most  firm  and  solid  foundations,  shall 
enable  us  to  return  to  our  private  stations,  in  the  bosom 
of  a  free,  peaceful,  and  happy  country." 

The  landing  of  Governor  Try  on  took  place  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  military  honors  were 
repeated ;  he  was  received  with  great  respect  by  the 
mayor  and  common  council,  and  transports  of  loyalty 
by  those  devoted  to  the  crown.  It  was  unknown  what 
instructions  he  had  received  from  the  ministry,  but  it 
was  rumored  that  a  large  force  would  soon  arrive  from 
England,  subject  to  his  directions.    At  this  very  moment 


1775.]  INSTRUCTIONS    TO    SCHUYLER.  495 

a  ship  of  war,  the  Asia,  lay  anchored  opposite  the  city  ; 
its  grim  batteries  bearing  upon  it,  greatly  to  the  dis- 
quiet of  the  faint-hearted  among  its  inhabitants. 

In  this  situation  of  affairs,  Washington  was  happy 
to  leave  such  an  efficient  person  as  General  Schuyler  in 
command  of  the  place.  According  to  his  instructions, 
the  latter  was  to  make  returns  once  a  month,  and  oft- 
ener,  should  circumstances  require  it,  to  Washington 
as  commander-in-chief,  and  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
of  the  forces  under  him,  and  the  state  of  his  supplies  ; 
and  to  send  the  earliest  advices  of  all  events  of  impor- 
tance. He  was  to  keep  a  wary  eye  on  Colonel  Guy 
Johnson,  and  to  counteract  any  prejudicial  influence  he 
might  exercise  over  the  Indians.  With  respect  to  Gov- 
ernor Tryon,  Washington  hinted  at  a  bold  and  decided 
line  of  conduct.  "  If  forcible  measures  are  judged  ne- 
cessary respecting  the  person  of  the  governor,  I  should 
have  no  difficulty  in  ordering  them,  if  the  Continental 
Congress  were  not  sitting ;  but  as  that  is  the  case,  and 
the  seizing  of  a  governor  quite  a  new  thing,  I  must  refer 
you  to  that  body  for  direction. " 

Had  Congress  thought  proper  to  direct  such  a 
measure,  Schuyler  certainly  would  have  been  the  man 
to  execute  it. 

At  New  York,  Washington  had  learned  all  the  de- 
tails of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill ;  they  quickened  his 
impatience  to  arrive  at  the  camp.  He  departed,  there- 
fore, on  the  26th,  accompanied  by  General  Lee  and  es- 
corted as  far  as  Kingsbridge,  the  termination  of  New 
York  Island,  by  Markoe's  Philadelphia  light  horse,  and 
several  companies  of  militia. 

In  the  mean  time  the  provincial  Congress  of  Mas- 


496  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

sachusetts,  then  in  session  at  Watertown,  had  made 
arrangements  for  the  expected  arrival  of  Washington. 
According  to  a  resolve  of  that  body,  "  the  president's 
house  in  Cambridge,  excepting  one  room  reserved  by 
the  president  for  his  own  use,  was  to  be  taken,  cleared, 
prepared,  and  furnished,  for  the  reception  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief and  General  Lee."  The  Congress  had 
likewise  sent  on  a  deputation  which  met  Washington  at 
Springfield,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  province,  and  pro- 
vided escorts  and  accommodations  for  him  along  the 
road.  Thus  honorably  attended  from  town  to  town,  and 
escorted  by  volunteer  companies  and  cavalcades  of  gen- 
tlemen, he  arrived  at  Watertown  on  the  2d  of  July, 
where  he  was  greeted  by  Congress  with  a  congratula- 
tory address,  in  which,  however,  was  frankly  stated  the 
undisciplined  state  of  the  army  he  was  summoned  to 
command.  An  address  of  cordial  welcome  was  likewise 
made  to  General  Lee. 

The  ceremony  over,  Washington  was  again  in  the 
saddle,  and,  escorted  by  a  troop  of  light  horse  and  a 
cavalcade  of  citizens,  proceeded  to  the  head-quarters 
provided  for  him  at  Cambridge,  three  miles  distant. 
As  he  entered  the  confines  of  the  camp,  the  shouts  of  the 
multitude  and  the  thundering  of  artillery,  gave  note  to 
the  enemy  beleaguered  in  Boston  of  his  arrival. 

His  military  reputation  had  preceded  him,  and  ex- 
cited great  expectations.  They  were  not  disappointed. 
His  personal  appearance,  notwithstanding  the  dust  of 
travel,  was  calculated  to  captivate  the  public  eye.  As 
he  rode  through  the  camp,  amidst  a  throng  of  officers, 
he  was  the  admiration  of  the  soldiery,  and  of  a  curious 
throng  collected  from  the  surrounding  country.     Hap- 


1775.]        ARRIVAL  AT  THE  CAMP.  497 

py  was  the  countryman  who  could  get  a  full  view  of  him 
to  carry  home  an  account  of  it  to  his  neighbors.  "  I 
have  been  much  gratified  this  day  with  a  view  of  Gen- 
eral Washington,"  writes  a  contemporary  chronicler. 
"  His  excellency  was  on  horseback,  in  company  with 
several  military  gentlemen.  It  was  not  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  all  others.  He  is  tall  and  well-pro- 
portioned, and  his  personal  appearance  truly  noble  and 
majestic."  * 

The  fair  sex  were  still  more  enthusiastic  in  their  ad- 
miration, if  we  may  judge  from  the  following  passage  of 
a  letter  written  by  the  intelligent  and  accomplished  wife 
of  John  Adams  to  her  husband :  "  Dignity,  ease  and 
complacency,  the  gentleman  and  the  soldier,  look  agree- 
ably blended  in  him.  Modesty  marks  every  line  and 
feature  of  his  face.  Those  lines  of  Dryden  instantly 
occurred  to  me : 

'  Mark  his  majestic  fabric !     He's  a  temple 
Sacred  by  birth  and  built  by  hands  divine ; 
His  soul's  the  deity  that  lodges  there ; 
Nor  is  the  pile  unworthy  of  the  God.' " 

With  Washington,  modest  at  all  times,  there  was  no 
false  excitement  on  the  present  occasion  ;  nothing  to  call 
forth  emotions  of  self-glorification.  The  honors  and 
congratulations  with  which  he  was  received,  the  accla- 
mations of  the  public,  the  cheerings  of  the  army,  only 
told  him  how  much  was  expected  from  him ;  and  when 
he  looked  round  upon  the  raw  and  rustic  levies  he  was 
to  command,  "  a  mixed  multitude  of  people,  under  very 

*  Thacher. — Military  Journal. 
vol.  i.— 32 


498  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1775. 

little  discipline,  ^order,  or  government,"  scattered  in 
rough  encampments  about  hill  and  dale,  beleaguering  a 
city  garrisoned  by  veteran  troops,  with  ships  of  war 
anchored  about  its  harbor,  and  strong  outposts  guard- 
ing it,  he  felt  the  awful  responsibility  of  his  situation, 
and  the  complicated  and  stupendous  task  before  him. 
He  spoke  of  it,  however,  not  despondingly,  nor  boast- 
fully and  with  defiance;  but  with  that  solemn  and 
sedate  resolution,  and  that  hopeful  reliance  on  Su- 
preme Goodness,  which  belonged  to  his  magnanimous 
nature.  The  cause  of  his  country,  he  observed,  had 
called  him  to  an  active  and  dangerous  duty ;  but  he 
trusted  that  Divine  Providence,  which  wisely  orders  the 
affairs  of  men,  would  enable  him  to  discharge  it  with 
fidelity  and  success* 

*  Letter  to  Governor  Trumbull. — Sparks,  iii.,  81. 


END    OF   VOL.    I. 


'     - 


APPENDIX. 

[PUBLISHERS'   NOTICE.] 


PORTRAITS   OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  Portrait  engraved  for  this  volume  is  from  an  original  pic- 
ture by  Wertmuller,  a  Danish  or  Swedish  artist,  who  painted  it 
from  life,  in  Philadelphia,  in  1795.  The  earliest  portrait  of 
Washington — that  by  C.  W.  Peale,  1772,  which  properly  belongs 
in  this  volume,  will  be  given  in  the  second  volume.  The  third 
will  contain  an  engraving  from  Houdon's  full-length  statue  of 
Washington,  now  in  the  Capitol  at  Richmond. 

Wertmuller's  portrait  represents  Washington  as  much  younger 
looking  than  the  standard  portrait  by  Stuart.  A  clumsily  fitted 
set  of  artificial  teeth  affects  the  expression  about  the  mouth,  in 
Stuart's  picture,  adding  also  to  the  appearance  of  age.  In  re- 
gard to  the  authenticity  and  history  of  the  portrait  now  first  en- 
graved, we  annex  the  following  letter  from  its  present  proprietor, 
Charles  Augustus  Davis,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  who  has  kindly 
loaned  the  picture  for  our  engraving. 

No.  1  University  Place,  New  York,  April,  1855. 
GrENTLEMEN  '. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  comply  with  the  request  of  Mr. 
Irving,  to  allow  the  portrait  of  Washington,  in  my  possession,  to 
be  engraved  for  "  The  Life  "  of  that  illustrious  person,  which 
Mr.  Irving  is  now  about  completing,  and  which  you  are  about  to 


500  APPENDIX. 

publish.  A  brief  history  of  this  portrait  I  gather  from  the  Baron 
Saladin,  residing  near  Geneva  (Switzerland),  from  whom  I  ob- 
tained it  in  September  last.  The  wife  of  the  Baron  is  the  grand- 
daughter of  the  late  Mr.  Cazenove,  and  she  inherited  it  from  he* 
grandfather,  to  whom  it  was  given  by  General  Washington  him- 
self, at  the  period  of  its  being  painted  (1795) ;  the  General's  age 
then  sixty-two.  It  was  taken  by  Mr.  Cazenove  to  Switzerland 
at  that  period,  and  has  been  ever  regarded  by  all  who  saw  it,  as 
a  faithful  and  accurate  likeness — it  could  scarcely  be  otherwise 
— Wertmuller,  the  artist,  was,  in  his  day,  a  highly  esteemed 
painter  in  Philadelphia,  where  this  portrait  was  painted  ;  and  it 
is  hardly  probable  that,  under  all  the  circumstances,  an  inaccurate 
picture  would  have  been  conveyed  to  Switzerland. 

The  Baron  Saladin,  from  whom  (as  before  said)  I  obtained 
this  picture,  and  who  is  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  reputation, 
writes  as  follows  : — "  In  answer  to  your  inquiry  on  the  subject  of 
the  Portrait  of  Washington,  I  have  to  state  that  it  was  painted 
by  'Wertmuller,'  in  Philadelphia,  from  life  (d'apres  nature), 
and  given  by  the  General  himself  to  Mr.  Cazenove,  the  grand- 
father of  my  wife ; — the  General  and  Mr.  Cazenove  were  very  in- 
timate. It  was  brought  by  Mr.  Cazenove  from  America.  Voila 
la  tradition  de  famille." 

This  Mr.  Cazenove  was  a  very  respectable  Swiss  gentleman, 
who  undertook  the  introduction  of  Swiss  culture,  &c.  &c,  in  our 
State.     The  town  of  "  Cazenovia  "  was  named  in  honor  of  him. 

In  regard  to  the  truthfulness  of  this  portrait,  I  can  only  say 
that  since  its  arrival  here,  gentlemen  who  remember  the  illustri- 
ous original  say,  that  of  all  the  portraits  they  have  ever  seen  of 
Washington,  none  brings  home  to  their  memory  so  much  of  truth- 
fulness and  accuracy. 

Very  respectfully  your  obt.  servt., 

Chas.  Aug.  Davis. 
To  Messrs.  Putxam  <fe  Co., 
New  York. 


The  following  information  is  kindly  communicated  in  a  letter 
to  the  Publishers,  by  Benson  J.  Lossing,  Esq.,  author  of  the 
u Field  Book  of  the  Revolution."     Mr.   Lossing's  inquiries  on 


APPENDIX.  501 

the  subject  have  been  extensive  and  thorough,  and  these  partic- 
ulars are  valuable  and  reliable  : — 

"  The  picture  of  Washington  at  forty  years  of  age,  painted 
at  Mount  Vernon,  by  Charles  Wilson  Peale,  and  now  at  Arling- 
ton House,  was,  as  I  am  informed,  the  first  portrait  of  him  ever 
delineated.  He  is  represented  in  the  costume  of  a  Virginian 
Colonel  of  that  day  (1772) ;  a  blue  coat  faced  with  red,  bright 
metal  buttons,  and  dark  red  waistcoat  and  breeches.  Peale 
painted  three  other  pictures  of  Washington,  from  life,  all  of 
which  I  have  seen.  One  was  commenced  at  Valley  Forge,  in  the 
spring  of  1778.  Peale  was  then  a  captain  in  the  Continental 
army.  Soon  after  the  first  sitting,  the  troops  left  Valley  Forge, 
and  pursued  the  British  in  their  flight  from  Philadelphia  toward 
New  York.  The  painter  took  his  materials  with  him,  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  of  Monmouth  at  the  close  of  June,  and,  a  day 
or  two  afterward,  procured  another  sitting  at  New  Brunswick. 
The  picture  was  finally  completed  at  Princeton,  and  Nassau 
Hall  is  a  prominent  object  in  the  background.  That  portrait  is 
now  in  the  gallery  of  the  National  Institute,  Washington  City. 
The  original  of  the  sword  upon  the  thigh  of  the  Chief,  in  the 
painting,  is  in  a  glass  case  a  few  feet  from  it,  and  attests  the  ex- 
treme accuracy  of  the  artist,  even  in  the  subordinate  parts  of 
the  picture.  Another  was  painted  by  Peale,  in  1780,  for  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  at  Princeton,  to  occupy  a  frame  in  which 
a  portrait  of  G-eorge  the  Third  had  been  destroyed  by  an  Ameri- 
can cannon-ball,  during  the  battle  at  that  place,  on  the  3d  of 
January,  1777.  It  remains  in  the  possession  of  the  College,  and 
was  spared  by  the  late  fire  which  destroyed  Nassau  Hall.  The 
last  portrait  from  life,  painted  by  Peale,  was  executed  in  1783, 
and  continued  in  possession  of  the  painter  until  his  death.  It 
was  sold,  with  the  '  Peale  Gallery,'  at  Philadelphia,  in  October 
last,  for  fifty-five  dollars. 

"In  1783,  the  late  William  Dunlap  painted  an  indifferent 
portrait  (quarter  length)  of  Washington,  while  he  was  at  Rocky 
Hill,  in  New  Jersey,  just  before  he  issued  his  Farewell  Address 
to  the  Army.  Dunlap  was  then  between  seventeen  and  eighteen 
years  of  age.  He  has  left  no  record  concerning  its  subsequent 
history. 


502  APPENDIX. 

"In  1784,  an  artist,  named  Wright,  painted  a  full-length 
portrait  of  Washington,  from  life,  for  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Powell,  a 
valued  friend  of  the  patriot  and  his  family.  It  is  in  the  posses- 
sion of  John  Hare  Powell,  Esq.,  of  Powellton,  a  nephew  of  Mrs. 
Powell,  whose  residence  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  oppo- 
site Philadelphia.  He  also  preserves  the  carriage  which  belonged 
to  his  aunt,  and  which  was  imported  with,  and  is  an  exact  dupli- 
cate of,  the  *  state  carriage '  of  Washington,  while  he  was  Pre- 
sident of  the  United  States.  I  hav£  a  drawing  of  the  carriage, 
made  while  on  a  visit  to  Mr.  Powell,  in  1848. 

"In  1785,  Pine,  an  English  artist,  painted  a  portrait  from 
life,  for  Francis  Hopkinson.  You  doubtless  remember  the  Gene- 
ral's letter  to  that  gentleman  on  the  subject  of  his  sittings  for  the 
picture,  in  which  he  says  :  '  It  is  a  proof,  among  many  others,  of 
what  habit  and  custom  can  effect.  At  first,  I  was  as  impatient 
at  the  request,  and  as  restive  under  the  operation,  as  a  colt  is  of 
the  saddle.  The  next  time  I  submitted  very  reluctantly,  but 
with  less  flouncing.  Now,  no  dray  moves  more  readily  to  the 
thill,  than  I  to  the  painter's  chair.'  That  picture  was  painted  at 
Mount  Vernon,  and  is  in  possession  (I  believe)  of  the  family  of 
the  late  Judge  Hopk,inson,  of  Philadelphia.  The  same  year 
Houdon,  the  eminent  French  sculptor,  took  his  model  for  the 
statue,  now  in  the  Capitol,  at  Richmond.  The  original  plaster 
cast,  taken  from  the  living  face,  is  upon  a  bracket  in  the  library 
at  Mount  Yernon,  where  I  saw  it  a  few  months  ago. 

"  A  miniature  painter,  named  Robertson  (a  Scotchman),  ob- 
tained a  sitting  from  the  President  and  his  wife  in  1790.  They 
were  exquisitely  painted  on  ivory.  I  was  permitted  to  copy  them 
in  1852.  That  of  Mrs.  Washington,  I  engraved  for  the  Field 
Book.  The  other  was  so  unlike  any  portraits  of  Washington 
(being  painted  just  before  his  artificial  teeth  were  inserted),  that 
after  I  had  engraved  it,  I  did  not  publish  it.  Mr.  Custis  has  a 
miniature  of  his  grandmother,  by  the  same  artist,  a  copy  of 
which  is  in  the  American  Portrait  Gallery. 

"  The  late  Colonel  Trumbull  painted  three  full-length  por- 
traits of  Washington,  from  life.  The  first  was  painted  for  the 
Corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York,  in  1792,  and  remains  in 
the  City  Hall.    It  represents  Washington  in  full  uniform,  stand- 


APPENDIX.  503 

ing  by  a  white  horse,  leaning  his  arm  upon  the  saddle.  In  the 
background  is  a  view  of  Broadway  in  ruins,  with  Fort  George  at 
the  termination;  and  in  the  bay  is  seen  the  embarkation  of  the 
British  troops,  who  were  about  to  leave  our  shores  for  ever.  In 
1792,  the  City  of  Charleston  commissioned  Trumbull  to  paint  a 
full-length  portrait.  He  represented  the  chief  at  the  moment 
when  he  resolved  to  retreat  back  into  the  country,  from  the  banks 
of  the  frozen  Delaware,  during  the  night  just  at  hand.  The 
agent  of  the  Charleston  Council  wanted  a  more  matter-of-fact 
picture.  The  artist  procured  another  sitting,  and  Washington 
said  to  him,  in  reference  to  the  first,  l  Keep  this  picture  for 
yourself,  Mr.  Trumbull,  and  finish  it  to  your  own  taste.'  The 
first  picture  was  painted  in  New  York ;  the  last  two  in  Philadel- 
phia The  one  kept  by  the  artist  is  the  property  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, and  is  considered  the  best  military  portrait  of  Washington 
ever  painted.  Trumbull  excelled  all  others  in  delineating  his 
peculiar  figure. 

"In  1793,  Stuart  painted,  in  Philadelphia,  that  head  of 
Washington,  which  is  regarded  by  all  as  the  standard  portrait  of 
the  first  President.  It  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  artist 
until  his  death,  in  1828,  when  it  was  purchased  from  his  widow 
by  the  Boston  Atheneum.  At  about  the  same  time,  a  portrait 
from  life  was  painted  for  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  one  of 
Washington's  valued  correspondents.  I  do  not  remember  by 
whom  it  was  painted. 

"  The  last  original  picture  of  Washington  was  made  in  1796, 
by  an  exceedingly  clever  artist  named  Sharpless.  It  is  a  profile, 
outlined  by  a  pantograph,  and  colored  with  crayons.  It  is  of 
cabinet  size,  and  is  pronounced  by  Mr.  Custis,  its  possessor,  to  be 
the  most  faithful  likeness  of  the  first  President  extant.  Mr.  Custis 
also  has,  in  marble  bas-relief,  a  profile  life  size,  by  Houdon, 
which  that  artist  executed  in  1785,  and  presented  to  Washington. 
Sharpless  obtained  the  profiles  of  many  of  the  distinguished 
Americans  of  that  day.  Among  them  were  those  of  Jefferson  and 
Monroe.  These  originals  I  recently  found,  in  dingy  frames,  in  the 
possession  of  a  gallant  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  living  at  Hamp- 
ton, near  Old  Point  Comfort.  As  I  could  not  obtain  either  of 
them  by  purchase,  I  made  a  careful  copy  of  Jefferson's.     I  have 


504  APPENDIX. 

also  a  copy  of  the  crayon  sketch  of  Washington,  which  is  at  your 
service  if  you  desire  it." 

An  interesting  account  of  the  various  portraits  of  "Washing- 
ton will  be  found  in  the  Republican  Court,  by  Dr.  B.  W.  Gtris- 
wold,  New  York,  1855. 


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